MODERN HERITAGE’ FUTURES: BETWEEN CONSERVATION AND INNOVATION

The biographies of all panelists can be viewed here.

Recent years have witnessed a rapid increase in the fields of cultural heritage worldwide with expanding discussions about the mechanisms and consequences of community participation. This trend has brought to the forefront debates about who owns the past, who has knowledge, and how heritage values can be shared more effectively with communities, who then ascribe meaning and value to heritage materials.

The symposium Modern Heritage’ Futures: Between Conservation and Innovation is taking place in the context of the evolution of cultural heritage studies from the 20th century “expert approach” to the 21st century “people-centered & community shared approach,” and its theme aims to engage critically, with often stated aims of heritage, to addres the concerns of future generations.

The future is often seen, in dualistic approach, both as a threat and as a means for innovation. Confronted today with a present of uncertainty (COVID-19 pandemic), global crisis and climate change, we are more and more challenged with the necessity for creative reflections on the Past.

If we begin to probe seriously these orientations , then it becomes possible to think of heritage as a series of activities that are intimately concerned with assembling, building and designing future worlds (Harrison, 2020:4). In such worlds, heritage conservation would not be an end in itself; it would simply be a step on the path to a greater set of public outcomes.

The sessions (below) represent the main content of the programme and they are listed by sub-theme. With presentations grouped together across three sub-themes from both the Global North and South, this virtual symposium aims to reflect on predictions of possible futures and the role of innovation in the heritage-making process related to Modern Heritage. While mirroring our challenge, we intend “moving forward” through this symposium where researchers, practitioners, and community representatives seek new collaborations for changing times.
Therefore, we hope that Modern Heritage’ Futures symposium will create space for changing values and diverse voices, in the current context of a set of spatial and societal transformations processes, that we consider key to heritage practice in the 21st century. (Sandra Uskoković)

PROGRAM:

International Symposium: “Modern Heritage’ Futures: Between Conservation and Innovation”
Date: 21 November 2020
Venue: Shadow Casters Chamber/Zagreb and Zoom

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87537686268
You can enter the symposium through a desktop application or a web browser.

12: 45 – 12:55 CET
Welcome: Sandra Uskoković/University of Dubrovnik & Boris Bakal / Shadow Casters

13: 00 – 14:30 CET
Session 1: Saving Iconic Heritage
1. Renewal of the Sydney Opera House (Sheridan Burke, Sydney)
2. Writers House on Lake Sevan, Armenia (Ruben Arevshatyan, Yerevan)
3. Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade/Serbia (Dejan Todorović)
Chair & Discussant: Boris Bakal, Zagreb

14:30 – 14:40
Break

14:40 – 16:10 CET
Session 2: Innovative Conservation
1. Recognition of values does not always preserve heritage. How to define appropriate method of repair? The Serpentine building, Helsinki (Riitta Salastie, Oulu University)
2. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple, Chicago (Gunny Harboe)
3. Thermal Baths & Hotel, Sidi Harazem/ Morroco (Aziza Chaouni, University of Toronto)
Chair & Discussant: Dejan Todorović, Belgrade

16:10 – 16:30 CET
Lunch break

16:30 – 18:00 CET
Session 3: Initiatives
1. InnovaConcrete – Conservation of Concrete Cultural Heritage (Kyle Normandin, New York)
2. Socialist Modernism (Rusu Dumitru, B.A.C.U.)
2. “Vitic Dances”, Zagreb/Croatia (Boris Bakal, Shadow Casters)
Chair & Discussant: Sandra Uskoković /University of Dubrovnik

18:00 – 18:15 CET
Heritage’ Future in Times of COVID (Sandra Uskoković, University of Dubrovnik)

18:15 – 18:45 CET
Closing Remarks /All participants

The biographies of all panelists can be viewed here.