heritagemaking

Heritage-making is the process by which people and communities actively create, interpret, and steward cultural heritage. It encompasses the selection, arrangement, and presentation of memories, material culture, places, and practices that a group regards as important to its identity. Unlike formal heritage management, which often focuses on preservation by institutions, heritage-making emphasizes agency, participation, and ongoing dialogue among generations and groups.

Practices include collecting oral histories, recording traditions, reviving crafts, documenting sites, developing digital archives, and constructing public commemorations such as memorials or exhibitions. It also involves everyday acts—place naming, storytelling, performances, and the reuse or adaptation of spaces—that shape what a community regards as heritage. Co-creation with residents, elders, youth, and marginalized groups is central, as is ethical reflection on representation, consent, and ownership.

The field intersects with cultural heritage studies, memory studies, anthropology, and urban planning. It can support education, social cohesion, and local economies through heritage tourism, crafts, and interpretation. However, it also faces challenges such as commodification, selective memory, and power imbalances that privilege dominant groups. Safeguarding intangible heritage—rituals, languages, and know-how—requires careful consent and ongoing community engagement.

Successful heritage-making projects typically rely on inclusive governance, transparent decision-making, and long-term resource commitments. They aim to balance preservation with living culture, ensuring that heritage remains relevant to those who steward it.