Silk Road Museums: Design of Inclusive Heritage and Cross-Cultural Education

Ricard Huerta

doi:10.3390/su13116020

Abstract

This work is the result of a study on the characteristics that define some of the museums created on the Silk Road. The approach to these museums has focused especially on the observation of the educational and heritage aspects that define these institutions. Since 1988, numerous actions related to the Silk Road have been promoted by UNESCO. This old trade route has now become a route of dialogue between cultures. Each museum studied is characterized by promoting local and national issues that define it. Educational issues stand out, since the tradition of silk production is very important in each place. Another aspect observed is that heritage issues manage to strengthen the characteristic features of each community. I have interviewed those responsible and personally observed their facilities and collections. Each museum has chosen to highlight local differential factors, enhancing the aesthetic arguments of cultural identity. Finally, I examine the specific case of the Valencia Silk Museum, the most recent creation museum but also the oldest institution. In the conclusions, I highlight the importance of education in most of these institutions.

Highlights

In addition to studying the documents kept in the archives of these museums, we are interested in the artistic and educational value of writing, we show another great argument of the potential that characterizes this type of document: its visual aspect [6]
When the elements that unite us are of historical character, we add a heritage component that ends up influencing the opinion about ourselves and about the group to which we feel united
By focusing on the educational part, while silk museums that we can find on the Silk Road

Summary

Introduction

Sustainability 2021, 13, The analysis presented is part of the experience during decades of university research, promoting education in museums and knowing numerous institutions. I have shared work with teams from different international entities, especially in aspects related to museology, heritage education and training of museum educators. In November 2018, the Valencia Silk Museum organized an international conference with the objective of knowing the history and characteristics of the silk museums around the world from a transdisciplinary perspective. The creation of a network of silk museums was proposed to build common projects and exchange experiences. It is in this meeting where I detected interest in the educational and heritage aesthetics of these museums

Methods

Results

Conclusion