Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: In this article we introduce the concept of Heritage Practice Communities (HPCs), a term intended to assist researchers and others with better understanding how people engage with heritage beyond the formal institutional frameworks in Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) and other heritage-focused institutions. Public participation is often shaped by top-down models that primarily serve the institutions; even academic research has previously often aimed at providing training or instruction, or otherwise modifying, correcting or harnessing the ways in which the public uses, accesses and works with heritage. HPCs, however, independently produce and share heritage knowledge, starting from a range of motivations. The goals and interests of HPCs may at times align with or be influenced by those of heritage institutions, while at other times their interests and ways of generating knowledge may differ from and even be at odds with them. We call for a shift away from institutional perspectives on heritage practice and communities. We propose a ‘heritage galaxy’ metaphor, where HPCs, institutions, and other actors form dynamic, ever-shifting constellations, capturing the fluidity of these relationships. This view supports more respectful, non-interventionist engagement strategies that recognise HPCs’ autonomy and intrinsic value, not just their usefulness to institutions.
Institutions: University of Copenhagen, KU Leuven, University of Antwerp
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Newcastle University
OpenAlex ID: W4416830877