Croydon Museum in the UK is currently threatening to sell off museum collections in order to fund an arts complex. English Heritage is facing additional 10% cuts whilst the Arts Council cuts are ‘only’ 5%. Museums Libraries and Archives (MLA) was one of the very first organisations to disappear in the UK bonfire of the qango’s (quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations) a few years ago.
In straitened financial times, where all culture and heritage are seen as luxuries, it seems that museums and other forms of heritage are losing ground even faster than other forms of culture. Yet although politicians characterise cultural heritage as elitist and expensive research suggests that many people in Australia, and indeed elsewhere, value and benefit from preserving and having access to knowledge about their cultural heritage.
Whether it is because heritage is often associated with planning controversies, or because so many people see heritage is something elitist, heritage-bashing’ is a common sport. It is seen as a barrier to progress, an impediment to the planning system, and an unfair burden on individuals. Inconvenient historic suburbs suddenly become ‘slums’ and historic buildings as ‘carbon villains’. A former head of planning in one Australian state proudly described our heritage as ‘nothing but a fart in the desert’, whilst a former Mayor of London accused English Heritage of doing more damage than the Luftwaffe.
It is not just rhetorical destruction – Australian journalist Rob Bevan describes the way in which the destruction of buildings and places of worship is part of the ‘ethnic cleansing’ that accompanies war, and that by removing physical traces of community the victors remove memories and establishes control.
But if politicians do not always like heritage, people do. Ninety per cent of Australians have visited a heritage site and some 95% had engaged in at least one heritage related activity in the past year. About a third of Australians visit museums each year – more than attend live sporting events.
Australians are very clear about the role of heritage in identity, and in the educational benefits of heritage and history for their children. They want to know more about their own heritage and that of others, and at the same time feel strongly that too little is done to protect heritage, and many of them are willing to pay considerably more than current spending levels, to improve that situation.
The challenge is how best to bridge this divide between the high degree of importance that individuals and communities place on cultural heritage and the relatively low political profile – and with it a relatively low level of support – that cultural heritage has.
Cultural heritage also falls into the gaps between arts, culture, planning and the environment, which means that in policy terms it is often invisible. Yet there is a growing research base that demonstrates that caring for places that matter and taking part in cultural heritage activities can generate significant environmental, economic and social benefits. Benefits mean that heritage can contribute to wider agendas such as health outcomes, education, the environment and urban planning. But the connection between heritage and these bigger issues is rarely if ever made because that evidence is scattered across a wide range of academic disciplines.
The Curtin University academic Mike Dockery has shown that the Indigenous Australians who are happiest and healthiest, with low arrest rates and good educational outcomes are those with a strong attachment to their culture and with a strong Aboriginal identity. The most damaged are the stolen generations, their children and sometimes grand children.
Heritage places may contribute towards social stability and cohesion in the community and allow a sense of identity either for the whole community or for members of cultural groups. People turn to heritage as way of both feeling at home in new place, but also of seeking to pass on to future generations a sense of culture and belonging.
To take just two of many examples, the Welcome Wall at the Australian Maritime Museum acknowledges the stories of individuals who have come to Australia , whilst the Australian Museum has been working with young people of Pacific Island descent to discover their own history and identity through their Pacific Collections
Museums and heritage sites are also important sources of out of classroom learning: Students ’ interest and enjoyment of history can be enhanced through a range of different approaches such as the use of artefacts , museums, historical sites and hands – on activities. This is supported by 85% parents who believe that visits to museums should be part of the new national curriculum.
There can be political benefits to engagement in cultural participation which includes heritage activities. In the UK voting, political party membership and confidence in the political system has been in steep decline. The Institute for Public Policy Research looked at the contribution that cultural participation can make to civic life, and found that countries with higher levels of cultural engagement had higher levels of social and institutional trust, and that people who participate in cultural activities are more likely than the average citizen to believe that other people are fair, helpful and can be trusted and to have trust in the police, legal system, politicians and parliament.
Cultural heritage plays a critical role in who we are, how we see ourselves and what we teach our children. It contributes to our personal mental and physical health, and – in a way – the mental and physical health of the nation.
Arguments about the value of heritage are not new but maybe we need to capture and articulate why it matters, and remind people that without heritage, our culture – and our nation – is the poorer.
This article is in an edited extract from ‘Only Connect’: The Social, Economic and Environmental Benefits Of Cultural Heritage.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2013/jul/18/arts-council-criticises-chinese-porcelain-sell-off
