Asking New Questions of Built Heritage Interpretation

All interpretation involves an element of challenging assumed narratives about the place, thing, or associated people. In considering built heritage, much of the way the sites are perceived, derives from the established statutory frameworks that have evolved at the local, state, national and global levels. Most proponents of built heritage will recognise that these frameworks have been essential in ensuring the protection and longevity of the heritage sites. Nonetheless, there is an emerging reconsideration of heritage frameworks and the ways that they assign value and significance. Those interpreting built heritage sites can find themselves asked to respond to Statements of Significance which are sparse in detail, or which reflect heritage priorities from previous eras. 

Additionally, audiences encounter often encounter built heritage as part of their daily lives (whether or not they recognise it as such). It is the house down the street, the landmark on the city skyline, the building they see out the train window on their way to work. These interactions come laden with their own values and personal narratives and they colour the way any presented interpretation is received and understood. 

When facing these competing interests, assumptions and framings, how then do we introduce new narratives, highlight new associations and offer potential shifts to the ways in which built heritage sites are understood and discussed. 

This panel looks a range of bult heritage interpretation projects, each at a different stage, that are seeking to reframe the understanding of sites and the populations that inhabited and used them. 

Speakers:

Fiona Binns, Urbis, Inclusivity vs Exclusivity and the “divine right of the rich” – interpreting Siriusly challenging narratives

David Perkins, Port Arthur, Developing a broader narrative to provide a more nuanced understanding of historic sites

Meighen Katz, Lovell Chen, Rainbow Lists: heritage registers as inclusive interpretation

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