Heritage is a personal story

Confession: I have never really understood people’s obsession with researching their family history. This may sound odd coming from someone whose background is in heritage studies. After all, the benefits family researchers describe – a strengthened sense of identity, connection, empathy, even resilience – to this day form the backbone of many national and international … Continue reading Heritage is a personal story

Handing over Power, or: Diversity in the Heritage Sector

At the start of November, the UK Art Fund published a report on diversity in the arts and heritage sectors. Specifically, the report reviews the impact of diversity initiatives on curatorial roles since 1998. However, it also makes important observations on how the current structure of museums may stand in the way of diversity – … Continue reading Handing over Power, or: Diversity in the Heritage Sector

Third Space in Culture, Heritage and Learning

Our current Erasmus + project on Negotiating Identities in the Third Space is about to conclude. As I am beginning to draw together the various outputs we’ve said we would produce, I’d like to share a few observations on my own learning about Third Space during the project to date. The physical in Third Space … Continue reading Third Space in Culture, Heritage and Learning

Jongmyo Jeryeak in Munich, Or: What makes intangible heritage?

Last week, I had the wonderful opportunity to see Jongmyo Jeryeak, the Royal ancestral ritual and music of the Korean Joseon period (1392-1910), performed in Munich by the National Gugak Center of Korea [1]. Jongmyo Jeryeak was inscribed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008. The material context of intangible heritage One of my thoughts … Continue reading Jongmyo Jeryeak in Munich, Or: What makes intangible heritage?

On Visiting the Zeppelin Museum, Or: Storytelling History

Last week, I finally took the time to visit the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Unfortunately, it wasn’t what I had hoped it would be – and not just because here, too, they force you to lock up your bag, leaving you to carry what you need in your hands [1]. The exhibition The exhibition … Continue reading On Visiting the Zeppelin Museum, Or: Storytelling History

Architecture as interpretive infrastructure

Interpret Europe has just published a little introduction to heritage interpretation for architects and landscape architects. In one of my previous roles, I was regularly in consultancy teams that included architects, so the booklet got me thinking about some of those experiences as well as architecture that I liked, both in heritage sites and in … Continue reading Architecture as interpretive infrastructure