Session: #467

Content:

As we approach the end of the annus horribilis 2020, it is imperative that we widen our horizons both as human beings and scholars.
Tangible cultural heritage has been hit extremely hard by the pandemic and its consequences, with most museums and sites around the globe closed intermittently or permanently. Moreover, intangible heritage, in the sense of values, ideas and principles that give coherence to the social and cultural fabric of contemporary societies, has been shaken de profundis. One thing that emerges clearly from the pandemic is that our existing cultural policies and cultural attitudes do not correspond to the 21st century and its realities.
A call for sustainability in heritage and heritage-related practices, made urgent by the visible, tangible and measurable environmental impact on heritage sites has been underway for quite some time. Along these lines, measures were taken in certain circumstances, sometimes of ambivalent purpose (i.e. MOSES project in flood-befallen Venice). Still, a common approach based on a consensus of urgency for all matters pertaining to heritage and its management is still lacking.
The lack of visitors during the pandemic was beneficial for many sites, catastrophic for most major museums and cultural institutions, indicative of a problem that cannot wait any longer to be addressed: whose heritage is it? Whom do we invite to partake in heritage as stakeholders and practitioners thereof? How do we plan to assume responsibility for an Anthropocene-induced trauma that undoubtedly will haunt humanity for years to come?
We invite contributions that relate to heritage, its understanding and management amidst and in the aftermath of the pandemic, as an endeavor to establish impact and evaluate lessons learnt.

Session: #467

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