Art and Cultural Heritage - Then and Now

Art and Cultural Heritage: Then and Now and Always

Then, Now and Always is a research project proposal developed by the Czech Technical University. It explores the ever changing relationships between art, museums, cultures and communities. It welcomes contributions to its planned publications through a specific strand at the ‘Heritages’ conference, Prague: June 28-30, 2023.

Abstracts: April 15, 2023

https://amps-research.com/then-now-prague/

Then, Now and Always argues that, recently, museums and places of memory have increasingly become centers of interaction and communication. Through documenting them, this project seeks to map current models of holistic placemaking and better understand local processes of preserving, telling, and sharing local history and cultural stories.

In this project, museums are understood as places where a common identity is created and local customs are given value, purpose, inspiration, and historical dimensions. It uses the notion of communities of practice and defines them as groups of people who “share an interest, fear or a passion for something. They learn from each other, communicate regularly, share experiences, exchange information, skills and create common goals. These community activities are a key to creating long-term heritage revitalization processes.

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The ‘Heritages’ conference marks the twentieth anniversary of the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Heritage that established culture as a concept to be safeguarded. That event came three decades after the World Heritage Convention. Through that, UNESCO had set up its World Heritage List of protect sites and buildings. The intervening years have seen multiple shifts in how we define heritage – as both material objects and social traditions.

Reflecting this scenario, this conference seeks papers on heritage from various standpoints: art and architecture historians concerned with preservation; architects and urban planners engaged with placemaking; cultural theorists and social historians documenting objects, places, people and events. It welcomes case studies that are specific and place-based. It embraces theoretical frameworks that function globally. It is interested in variegated methods of research and analysis.

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To submit an abstract, visit the main conference site:

https://amps-research.com/conference/heritages-prague/