Community Heritage and Culture
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COMMUNITY HERITAGE AND CULTURE How the arts and cultural sector strengthen cultural values and preserve heritage and history Kimberley Hodgson ARTS AND CULTURE BRIEFING PAPERS 02 One sign of a healthy community is its simultaneous ability KEYPOINT #1: to preserve and invent its culture—that is, to conserve its Compiling the history and heritage of a place history and heritage while developing new expressions for requires time, resources, and commitment; there current times. Often, the concept of preservation is inter- may be conflicts among community narratives, and preted as meaning stagnation when, in fact, heritage and these may take time to resolve. history can be the basis for innovation and advancement. Moreover, heritage and history are frequently essential KEYPOINT #2: sources of meaning that give a place character and reso- The involvement of trusted community-based nance. In a country as diverse and complex as the United organizations—such as churches, schools, art States, the histories of many communities are layered and centers, ethnic associations, and community social- contested. Groups settle and move away, each leaving service agencies can be key to the advancement and some remnant of who they were and why they had come preservation of culture and heritage. to that particular place. Sometimes they leave voluntarily. Sometimes they are forced to leave. Sometimes they do not KEYPOINT #3: leave at all. All of these groups—present and departed, rich and poor—have stories to tell, stories that can be collected, It often takes an outsider to catalyze identification conserved, and celebrated. The articulation of those stories of and discussions about important aspects of a can significantly contribute to the planning process by pre- community that some residents might take for serving, celebrating, challenging, and inventing community granted. identity. KEYPOINT #4: In efforts to strengthen cultural vitality and preserve heri- Using venues such as parks, open spaces, and tage and history, planners should consider four key points: public streetscapes as places for arts and cultural expressions can be an effective way to integrate history and heritage into the everyday lived experience. Prepared by the American Planning Association, as part of a collaborative project with the RMC Research Corporation and with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation KEYPOINTS Diversity—the tolerance KEYPOINT #1: and celebration of differ- Despite the importance of history and heritage, too ence—is often the hallmark often both community residents and planners do not Compiling the of innovative, creative cities.1 dedicate sufficient attention and resources to preserv- History and In most cases, the history of ing spaces and objects, documenting stories from el- Heritage of a diverse communities is lay- ders, and recording as well as facilitating a community’s Place ered and includes the expe- contemporary cultural practices. There are many poli- riences of different groups. cies, ordinances, and regulations on the books intended In representing that history, capturing different voices to identify, preserve, and protect heritage (from national and experiences is essential. However, compiling the to local). Still, tangible and especially intangible history history and heritage of a place can be contentious, politi- and heritage frequently are not valued fully until they cal, and even sometimes painful. In many communities, are in peril. Groups with deep roots in a community diversity is complicated by racism, discrimination, compe- sometimes do not reckon with the potential evanes- tition for resources, and fear of change. By incorporating cence of their heritage until they feel threatened by new arts and culture activities into their practice, planners can groups or interests that they perceive to be encroach- help community residents share their stories; participate ing on their physical or cultural territory. In the heat of in learning processes; establish or reestablish healthy new development or dramatic demographic shifts, this relationships among diverse groups of people; improve sense of imperilment can lead to bitter conflicts, often a community’s overall understanding of history and heri- along racial and ethnic lines, as for instance when vari- tage of place; foster tolerance and celebration of identity; ous groups seek to claim or reclaim a place’s historical and possibly provide opportunities for community resi- identity. Though such conflicts can be found across the dents to more actively participate in community visioning United States, particularly in cities, there are also places and planning processes. Specific examples of efforts to where history and heritage have been preserved, ten- collect and share history and contemporary experiences sions have been eased, and people have become more follow. These examples can be instructive for planners as respectful of the cultural legacy of others and more they work directly on issues of preservation but also as conscious of ways to preserve and enrich their own. they continue to develop and incorporate new tools in Moreover, these efforts to preserve, affirm, and advance their efforts to improve communities more generally. cultural heritage can have important beneficial impacts on attempts to build community and create place iden- Snapshots of Community Life in Writing, tities. Many of these examples involve arts and cultural Photographs, and Video activity and the leadership of artists, historians, folklor- ists, anthropologists, planners, and a range of commu- The University of Texas (UT) Humanities Institute used a nity stakeholders. combination of writing, photography, and video to cap- ture the diversity of community residents across the city In the following text, each point is discussed briefly with of Austin and central Texas. While this project was not the intention of reminding planners of the importance led by planners, it contributed to a shared understand- of culture and heritage in good planning practice. ing and celebration of diversity—an important first step to community visioning and goal setting. Between 2001 and 2003, the UT Humanities Institute invited commu- nity residents in Austin and surrounding areas to submit “brief personal stories using any language, form or style related to one of six topics: 1) my family’s history in Austin, 2) where I live, 3) the best day of my life, 4) what I really need, 5) my family’s most treasured possession, and 6) what I see when I look at Austin.” More than 900 people of all ages and ethnicities responded. These English and Spanish stories in written (hand- and typewritten), visual (photographs and video), and oral form (video) provide Another example of storytelling that can be instructive snapshots of life in the region. In 2003, the UT Humanities to planners involves the Neighborhood Story Project Institute, in partnership with the Austin History Center (NSP), which operates in partnership with the University Association, compiled 127 of the individual stories into a of New Orleans. NSP started in 2004 as a book-making book, Writing Austin’s Lives: A Community Portrait. This book project through which New Orleans residents could represents a living history of the diverse and culturally rich tell their histories and share their experiences and population: “people of every age, every neighborhood, aspirations in their own voices. One of many notable every ethnicity; people in comfort, in transition, in trouble; NSP efforts is the documentation of the Nine Times experienced writers, and those who never thought they Social and Pleasure Club, one of the oldest second-line had a story to tell, or someone to listen.”2 This effort cap- clubs in the Ninth Ward. (Second line is a quintessential tured both historical and contemporary life in Austin community-based New Orleans music and dance tradi- and also galvanized residents around the identity of the tion and art form—vastly important to New Orleans city. This has implications for planners concerned with culture and identity.4 Work on the book began in 2005, heritage and the meaning of a place, as well as for those before Hurricane Katrina struck. After Hurricane Katrina concerned with civic engagement. the group came together again, with support from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, to finish Community Empowerment Through Storytelling the book while also rebuilding their lives and the club. The book, Coming Out the Door for the Ninth Ward, was Storytelling methodology is an empowering tool that plan- released in 2006 with a big community celebration ners can use to develop an understanding of a community’s and the first parade organized in the Ninth Ward since history, values, and needs. Various methods for storytelling Katrina. In 2007, the book was chosen as a citywide have been documented amply and are worth incorporat- reading selection by One Book One New Orleans, a cam- ing into a planner’s toolbox. The examples here offer op- paign for literacy and community. Another NSP under- portunities for creative expression through imagery, sound, taking is the Seventh Ward Speaks oral-history project, and writing. In addition to playing a role in preservation which involves neighbors sharing the stories of their and documenting heritage, these tools are useful for initiat- lives with one another. As part of the project, interview ing change and also for identifying the kinds of changes content is used on posters that are displayed through- a community would like to see. For example, the Bay Area out the neighborhood, helping to bring neighbors to- Video Coalition (www.bavc.org), a nonprofit media arts gether and also providing a greater sense of community center in San Francisco, with funding from the Robert Wood identity for the Seventh Ward. The NSP will turn the col- Johnson Foundation’s New Routes to Community Health, lection of histories into a book.5 developed a digital storytelling project, Abriendo las Cajas (Opening Boxes), intended to raise awareness about domes- Highlighting the History and Heritage of Place: tic violence in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland.