LIVING HERITAGE

A project by Shadow Casters – “Living Heritage: Critical Approaches and Innovative Methods of Preserving the Performing Arts” – offers a visionary approach to the necessary, yet inherently elusive, preservation of heritage: the traces, processes, and contexts of the performing arts in the face of the challenges posed by the digital era.

The project “Living Heritage: Critical Approaches and Innovative Methods of Preserving the Performing Arts” explores the potential and materiality of archiving and safeguarding performance through the analysis and reinterpretation of an impressive collection of original performance artworks. It further examines the politics and philosophy of reactivating these works, placing them within their historical context while reflecting on the ways in which preservation can shape, inform, and inspire new performative practices.

The very idea of conserving performance critically questions the traditional concept of the archive as a neutral repository of facts. Instead, it emphasizes that the act of selecting, preserving, and presenting performance art can profoundly influence cultural, social, and political discourse. This approach aligns with broader theoretical frameworks in contemporary art, restoration, and interdisciplinary sciences, recognizing objects and materials not as passive containers of meaning, but as active agents in human experience.

The curation—and conservation—of performance assumes that these works are not inert artifacts but active participants in shaping knowledge, memory, and history. This view sees preserved performance not as static echoes of the past, but as dynamic forces that inform how artists, researchers, and audiences interpret, engage with, and understand them. In this sense, preserved forms—be they documents, bibliographic records, or audiovisual materials—within the contexts of artist archives or collective memory spaces become instruments of creative and imaginative potential. They have the power to evoke new meanings, stir emotional responses, and reframe historical narratives in unique and context-sensitive ways.

Preserving performance demands a layered approach that includes documentation, collaboration with artists, contextual awareness, and strategies flexible enough to respond to the ephemeral and evolving nature of live art. Unlike traditional artworks, performance requires acknowledgment of its living, fleeting essence, ensuring that future generations might encounter both its content and its context. This delicate process calls for a balance between conserving the past and adapting to changing realities, safeguarding the essence of the performance as it lives on.

The foundation of this project lies in the belief that performance should not merely be recorded, but actively sustained through re-performance, reinterpretation, interaction, and dialogue with contemporary works. This includes adaptive conservation methods that honor the transient nature of performance and its transformation over time.

Supported by: Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia & City of Zagreb – Department for Culture and Civil Society