Immaterial Cultural Heritage Research Articles

Subtle Sound Design: Designing for Experience Blend in a Historic House Museum

In this article, we present and discuss a user-study prototype, developed for the Bakkehuset historic house museum in Copenhagen. We examine how the prototype—a digital sound installation—can expand visitors’ experiences of the house and offer encounters with immaterial cultural heritage. Historic house museums often hold back on utilizing digital communication tools inside the houses, since a central purpose of this type of museum is to preserve an original environment. Digital communication tools, however, hold great potential for facilitating rich encounters with cultural heritage and in particular with the immaterial aspects of museum collections and their histories. In this article, we present our design steps and choices, aiming at subtly and seamlessly adding a digital dimension to a historic house. Based on qualitative interviews, we evaluate how the sound installation at Bakkehuset is sensed, interpreted, and used by visitors as part of their museum experience. In turn, we shed light on the historic house museum as a distinct design context for designing hybrid visitor experiences and point to the potentials of digital communication tools in this context.

Bringing researchers together with IIIF

Based on the open-source IIIF image viewer Mirador 3, the Specialised Information Service Art, Photography, Design - arthistoricum.net, in cooperation with NFDI4Culture, the consortium for research data on material and immaterial cultural heritage, provides a platform for collaborative exploration of image resources. Within the virtual research environment, users can create their own workspaces and image collections individually or in groups, share them for collaborative efforts, and jointly create persistent annotations. This article outlines the development and integration process of this web-based research platform and highlights future areas of improvement.

"Traditional Food Of Solo Strait As Immaterial Cultural Heritage: Protection, Preservation, And Promotion"

This study aims to examine the role of traditional Solo Straits food as an immaterial cultural heritage and investigate steps that can be taken to protect, preserve, and promote it. The research method used involved literature review, direct observation, interviews with cultural experts, and qualitative data analysis. The results that the traditional food of the Solo Strait has high cultural value as a symbol of tradition, togetherness, local wisdom, hospitality, and cultural identity. However, this traditional food faces threats in the form of changes in lifestyle, the influence of globalization, and the loss of traditional knowledge in food processing and serving. To protect, preserve, and promote the traditional food of the Solo Strait, steps are needed that involve legal recognition and protection, cultural education, preservation activities such as documentation and training, as well as support from the local community and related stakeholders. In addition, promotion strategies through social media, participation in culinary events, collaboration with tourism actors, and development of related products and services are also needed to introduce this traditional food as a culinary tourism attraction and support local economic development. This research provides a deeper understanding of the importance of traditional Solo Straits food as an immaterial cultural heritage and provides recommendations to local governments and local communities to protect, preserve, and promote this traditional food. It is hoped that by adopting the right policies and implementing strategies, the traditional food of the Solo Straits can be protected, preserved, and become a driver of sustainable local economic development.

Heritage Sites, Devotion, and Quality Enhancement in Tourism: The Promotion and Management of Ancient Marian Places of Worship along the Appian Way in Puglia and Basilicata

Religious tourism is a significant and growing field of tourism that overlaps with cultural tourism. It has the potential to improve the quality of life of those who live in places of faith or along routes of spiritual interest. Religious tourism involves a complex interplay of spiritual and economic motivations. Effective religious tourism management requires respect for spiritual values, partnerships, local engagement, and quality assessment. Devotional practices have evolved from medieval spiritual care to communal expressions and periodic rituals. This paper specifically analysed the characteristics of the Marian cult and pilgrimage flows to places of Marian faith. It examined their value potential from a religious and cultural perspective and their role as a particular attractor of experiential and quality tourism generated by the territorial context. The area of reference is the region of Puglia, which has often played the role of cultural bridge with the eastern coasts of the Mediterranean in the past. The second part of the paper focuses on the proposed itinerary along the Appian Way in its final route between Puglia and Basilicata. Marian shrines were sometimes the cause and sometimes the evidence of the cultural and economic poles that characterised the medieval and modern variants of this ancient road route. The study outlines a serial path that integrates the usual settlement or infrastructural levels of territorial knowledge with the Marian theme, which was analysed diachronically. An operational track in the contemporary territorial dimension emerged from the correlation of both the stratigraphic reading of the landscape and the interpretation of material and immaterial cultural heritage. This track aims to aggregate and promote the sustainable rediscovery of those places, which are largely cut off from the routes of mass tourism, in adherence to the most recent European and local cultural and landscape guidelines.

Documentation and Virtualisation of Vernacular Cultural Heritage: The Case of Underground Wine Cellars in Atauta (Soria)

The cultural heritage associated with rural systems is extremely valuable and is a sign of identity for cultures that are disappearing or undergoing transformation. This paper explains and illustrates the series of procedures that have been carried out to document and subsequently virtualise the ethnological site of the “El Plantío” underground wine cellars in Atauta. The ensembles of underground wine cellars are located immediately outside the village of Atauta, from which they are separated by the stream of Arroyo de la Laguna or Golbán, thus giving rise to two environments that are characterised by the perfect interrelation between their natural and architectural heritage. The visual and scenic relations between both these elements make this area a prime example of a cultural heritage that is associated with wine production systems. This documentation was obtained through a combination of different geomatic techniques. The results are organised on a web platform to enable their digital visualisation (2D/3D). This platform provides a virtual environment such that users can understand these underground heritage assets in an integrated way together with the immaterial cultural heritage and the cultural landscape—all of which converge on this ethnological site. The project offers different types of audiences, both real and virtual, access to all of the documentation.

City Alta Walking Trail: An analysis in light of the cultural heritage of the city of João Pessoa/PB

The City Alta Walking Trail was first launched in 2008, to commemorate the first year of listed status of the historic center of the city of João Pessoa/Paraíba. The walking trail took in key points marking the history of the city, but over time, it fell into disuse. In view of the importance of the walking trail for preserving the material and immaterial cultural heritage of João Pessoa/PB, this work describes the historical heritage that can be seen along the trail, and assesses the feasibility of reestablishing the trail project. This work was developed based on documentary and bibliographic research. It is qualitative, and exploratory in character, and involved field research. Analyzing the landmarks along the trail, it was seen that these points were drastically decreased in number. But the material heritage of the city is of historical importance, with the potential to develop tourism in this segment. In order to reestablish the walking trail, improvements must be made to the attractions, understanding the benefits for the city and the population.

Pravoslavni praznici - baština srpske kulture

This scientific paper deals with religious Orthodox holidays and their significance within Serbian culture. The facts that celebration of religious holidays has been very widespread in recent years and that they have been receiving extensive media coverage are indicative of their considerable social importance and topicality. Religious holidays are an inalienable part of the Serbian national heritage, and the UNESCO has even declared slavas to be part of global immaterial cultural heritage. Religious holidays have always had the mission of socializing social groups, as well as individuals. The Orthodox approach to religion has never pretended to abolish or replace before-Christian holidays and rituals with Christian ones. It merely enriched them, drawing on them and endowing them with novel, Christian raiment. This is the very reason why the Orthodox tradition is exceptionally rich in symbiotic layers of the rustic and the Christian. Many old, before-Christian holidays have been preserved thus, acquiring new functions, while the Orthodox Christianity introduced elements of the Eternal, without interfering much with the ingrained habits of community life of earlier eras.

Can the Unesco Award be a Facilitator to Change the Quality in After-School Programmes? - Visions for Future

Summary In April 2021 the “common welfare oriented sports club culture” has been awarded by German UNESCO intangible cultural heritage (ICH). To maintain this award, there has to be a future vision for the immaterial cultural heritage in terms of inclusive, equal opportunity, high-quality education. In Germany, sports clubs cooperate with (primary) schools in after-school programmes, often organized by the school (ASPO). However, offers of sports clubs are understood as offers for pastime and day-care, on the contrary, offers of other partner of cooperation are regarded as offers of education. During Corona crises grassroots sports in Germany was forbidden and more than that, ASPO and PE were cancelled immediately, with consequences e.g. for common welfare and health. “Existing concepts no longer work!” (Pühse, oral comment Bratislava 2021). P.E. teachers experimented with homework, but failed. However, exercise instructors and coaches came up with new motivating ideas and sports clubs seem to take over the role of high-quality education. Can the UNESCO award be part of a creative change not only for sports club culture but also for ASPO and excessively so to understanding PE in its multi-perspective? Let´s finally consider it in a future workshop, based on scenario, which reflects the relevant developments.

Sustainable Development in Rural and Peripheral Areas Through the Safeguarding of Their Immaterial Cultural Heritage

Aquest article proposa una visió general des de la mirada del sud-oest ibèric sobre la salvaguarda del patrimoni cultural immaterial en territoris rurals i perifèrics, abordant exemples d'èxit en accions de salvaguarda en diferents contextos d'estudi del patrimoni immaterial. Encara que aborden diferents temàtiques dins del patrimoni immaterial – tècniques, música i rituals –, l'èxit d'aquests exemples es deu a diversos factors comuns. Entre ells, resulta fonamental la participació i apropiació per part de les comunitats del seu patrimoni en els programes de recuperació i difusió del patrimoni cultural. La primera part del text aborda les tècniques de construcció tradicional a través de diferents programes amb diferents graus d'apropiació per part de les comunitats locals. Les tècniques de construcció tradicionals adquireixen una gran rellevància en el moment actual d'adaptació al canvi climàtic i de necessitat d'edificació sostenible. En la segona part, s'interpreten diferents iniciatives associades a la música i ball tradicionals, analitzant com han passat d'activitat auxiliar del quotidià a un símbol d'identitat. Finalment, l'article considera la salvaguarda dels rituals festius, en circumstàncies tan diferents com els programes de desenvolupament local o el trasllat de comunitats. A partir de les lliçons apreses d'aquestes iniciatives, una mica dispars però fructíferes, s'esbossen propostes més àmplies amb l'objectiu d'identificar futures eines de salvaguarda i gestió patrimonial. This paper proposes a Southwestern Iberian perspective on the safeguarding of immaterial cultural heritage in rural and peripheral territories, addressing successful examples of safeguarding actions in different contexts of immaterial heritage study. While approaching different themes within the scope of immaterial heritage – techniques, music and rituals – the success of these examples shares many components. Among them, participation and appropriation by communities are fundamental to cultural heritage recovery and dissemination programs. The first part of the text focuses on traditional construction techniques, showing several programs with different levels of appropriation by the local population. Traditional construction techniques are a heritage tool of a particular relevance in the current context of climate change adaptation and sustainable edification. The second part of the text interprets various activities related to traditional music and dance, to analyse how they have evolved from an auxiliar daily activity to an identity symbol. Finally, the article delves into the safeguarding of festive rituals inside more or less benign circumstances, as local development programs or communities' relocation. Following the lessons learned from these somewhat disparate but productive initiatives, the article sets out a wider range of proposals, aiming to identify future tools for safeguarding and heritage management. Este artículo propone una visión general desde la mirada del suroeste ibérico sobre la salvaguarda del patrimonio cultural inmaterial en territorios rurales y periféricos, abordando ejemplos de éxito en acciones de salvaguardia en diferentes contextos de estudio del patrimonio inmaterial. Aunque abordan diferentes temáticas dentro del patrimonio inmaterial – técnicas, música y rituales –, el éxito de estos ejemplos se debe a varios factores comunes. Entre ellos, resulta fundamental la participación y apropiación por parte de las comunidades de su patrimonio en los programas de recuperación y difusión del patrimonio cultural. La primera parte del texto aborda las técnicas de construcción tradicional a través de distintos programas con diferentes grados de apropiación por parte de las comunidades locales. Las técnicas de construcción tradicionales adquieren una gran relevancia en el momento actual de adaptación al cambio climático y de necesidad de edificación sostenible. En la segunda parte, se interpretan diferentes iniciativas asociadas a la música y baile tradicionales, analizando como han pasado de actividad auxiliar del cotidiano a un símbolo de identidad. Finalmente, el artículo considera la salvaguardia de los rituales festivos, en circunstancias tan distintas como los programas de desarrollo local o el traslado de comunidades. A partir de las lecciones aprendidas de estas iniciativas, algo dispares pero fructíferas, se esbozan propuestas más amplias con el objetivo de identificar futuras herramientas de salvaguarda y gestión patrimonial.

3D Model Acquisition and Image Processing for the Virtual Musealization of the Spezieria di Santa Maria della Scala, Rome

This study was carried out within the project “Roma Hispana. Nuevas tecnologías aplicadas al estudio histórico, la musealización y la puesta en valor de Patrimonio Cultural español en Roma: la spezieria di Santa Maria della Scala” (Universitat de València Spain), which is funded by the Conselleria d’Innovació, Universitats, Ciència i Societat Digital of the Generalitat Valenciana (2020–2021) and authorized by the Sovrintendenza Speciale Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio (Special Superintendence of Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscape) of Rome, Italy. The spezieria di Santa Maria della Scala was the oldest apothecary in Europe managed by the order of Discalced Carmelite friars. Operating between the second half of the seventeenth century and the mid-twentieth century, over time it acquired great prestige, becoming known as the Pharmacy of the Popes. The aims of the “Roma Hispana” project are to study, musealize and disseminate the material and immaterial cultural heritage of this historical spezieria by combining physicochemical and cultural studies, new 3D technologies, and artificial intelligence. As a case study, in this paper we report the application of a laser scanner prototype for 3D color imaging of the spezieria’s sales room and use a simpler photogrammetry method to collect analogous data in the small nearby storeroom coupled to the high-power capabilities of the ENEA parallel computer facility. Digital data were collected to enable a virtual tour that provides a fully navigable, faithful, high-resolution 3D color model to render this ancient Roman apothecary accessible and usable to interested members of the public and experts in the sector (art historians, restorers, etc.). We also describe the 3D technology used to obtain three-dimensional images of the cultural assets of these spaces (mostly drug containers) and its results. The ultimate aim of this study is to achieve the virtual musealization of the heritage complex.

Національна ідентичність у вимірі етнокультури: досвід славістичної фольклористики

Analysis of urgent problems, connected with the concept of identity, in particular the folklore significance, becomes nowadays the leitmotif of modern cultural-anthropological and ethnofolklore studies, determining the relevance of those aspects in Slavonic ethnology aimed at the thorough study of problems concerning national, regional, local identity, both on the theoretically-methodological and practical, social-cultural levels, enlisting wide European scientific experience. Taking into account modern expansion of the notion of folklore text to the scales of communication act and text of culture, as well as its contemporary functioning in the form of the folklorismus, it seems to be the most perspective to apply to the works in the field of Slavonic ethnology, folkloristics and cultural anthropology, where immaterial cultural heritage is considered in the context of cultural, identification factors of a certain region. Identity of a separate community is formed according to them. Such investigations have been carried out in the scientific centers of Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia. They have confirmed the fact, that the complex, polyfunctional and interdisciplinary trend in the study of traditional folk culture, especially folklore, still remains a relevant task of modern Slavistics.

Co-creation & design- “Living heritage routes” project: memory itineraries for the city of Lamego

The “Living heritage routes” project aims to interpret a given geographical area for tourism - the city of Lamego - based on the visual/oral perceptions and memories of the residents, so that it is possible to create tourist proposals, based on co-creation, that involve the local community, students and cultural agents through the contemporary interpretation of the space. The project has three distinct phases: 1st survey of the material and immaterial cultural heritage; 2nd elaboration of tourist itineraries and 3rd realization of an event that promotes and divulges the project - through a historical recreation of the space. The main objectives of this study were to involve the local population in projects that aim to recover and promote the local tangible and intangible cultural heritage. We believe that it is possible to create new cultural and artistic products, such as thematic itineraries, based on the image, perceptions and memories of the resident population, which can attract more visitors, improving the development of sustainable tourism aimed at local culture promoting.
 The methodology of this project, as far as its 1st phase is concerned, went through a qualitative approach, using mental maps, accompanied by interview, as a method of enquiry, in order to understand the local community's perception of their urban space. The analysis and interpretation of the mental maps will follow the methodology presented by Kozel (2007). The results obtained through a first analysis of the interviews and the mental maps, applied to 40 residents of the city of Lamego from four different age groups allowed, in a first preliminary analysis, the identification of new natural and cultural tangible and intangible heritage resources, as well as the identification of several points connected to the singularity and identity of the city and its districts. It was also clear that the connection of residents to their districts influences the way they perceive the city, as well as its symbolic and representational icons.
 The results reinforce the importance of involving residents, in the co-creation of heritage tourism products, allowing the construction and renewal of the tourism offer in small historical towns.

Cultural diplomacy and the reconfiguration of soft power: Evidence from Morocco

ABSTRACT During the reign of King Mohammed VI, Morocco experienced a rapid expansion in regional economic and military ties that have given a gradual impetus to a shift in regional power constellations. But in the shadow of this hard power trajectory, the Moroccan regime is increasingly capitalizing on its soft power resources as well. In this paper, we demonstrate how the kingdom’s considerable cultural capital – arising from religion, historicity, and tradition – has become a political instrument to improve the country’s outward image. The regime inter alia employs cultural politics and public diplomacy measures in Islamic and Jewish religious policy, through the commercialization of material and immaterial cultural heritage and through the massive investment into cultural infrastructure to construct a new nation brand and subsequentially solidify Morocco’s regional and international soft power standing. This, in turn, has enabled Morocco to more successfully pursue its foreign policy goals, first and foremost its quest to gain sovereignty over the Western Sahara. The research is based on media analysis and original data from semi-structured interviews conducted between February 2020 and February 2021.

Metini / Fort Ross. Russians in California – beginnings

The article presents the functioning of the heritage of the Russian colonization of northern California in the cultural memory of the inhabitants of these and surrounding areas of the state that belonged to Russia in the 19th century. The research concerns a specific location, the settlement known as Fort Ross, located in northern California. Today it has the status of the State Historic Park. The non-governmental organization Fort Ross Conservancy operates there, and this activity was analyzed using a case study research method. The characteristic elements of the cultural memory of the inhabitants of this territory were researched, such as: important historical figures, the most important events associated with for the formation of collective identity, institutions and organizations acting as memory guardians, as well as material and immaterial cultural heritage. These elements were analyzed in terms of the differentiation of their functioning in local cultural memory depending on a specific group (ethnic, cultural, religious) or specific subjects of cultural memory.

Retracted] Designing Decorative Flower Patterns for Clothing Using Genetic Algorithm

This paper aims to incorporate artistic vocabulary from intangible cultural heritage into historical clothing designs, particularly beautiful pattern designs. It is based on a profound understanding of the concept of immaterial cultural heritage and the mastery of its traditional skills to meet the public’s needs in terms of clothing and flowers. Technology, culture, and intangible cultural legacies can all be passed down and incorporated into the design. It is using interactive evolutionary computing to investigate the intangible cultural heritage elements of designing novel decorative flower patterns for clothing. Due to the rapid advancement of digital technology, computers are now used more frequently in the design of patterns and clothing. The goal is to improve the production of artistic trends and decrease the use of manual and traditional methods. This study uses interactive genetic algorithms to examine the current state of intangible cultural heritage elements in building designs for decorative flower patterns for clothing. The application of genetic algorithms to the design of clothing with flowers as decorative patterns is the main focus of this paper. The genetic algorithm is described, followed by an analysis of its fundamental structure. Then, the characteristics of the clothing flower decorative pattern are determined, the genetic algorithm model is applied to the design of the decorative flower patterns for clothing, and the hierarchical structure of heredity, variation, and interaction is provided. Finally, the genetic algorithm is applied to the large‐scale generation and mutation optimization of designing decorative flower patterns for clothing after analyzing its application in clothing flower decorative pattern technology. The idea presented in this paper can self‐reproduce and optimize, resulting in the nonartificial generation and optimization of designing decorative flower patterns for clothing.

Le musée de niche. Nouvel exploit dans la muséographie

In all the complexity of the museum study, there is a slight border that deserves all the attention of the researchers: the one of the niche museums. This work starts from the idea according to which the museum becomes a symbol of cultural practice in the contemporary era. In addition to the successful museums that are being built and built in the city, there is a new tendency to transform some spaces into small museums. These, in full process of heritage building, can highlight a series of features and characteristics of a society. The research of the niche museum starts from Ulf Hannerz, who says in his study that anthropology must renew its limits, it must take into account urban life. Researchers should not focus only on rural areas, in small, homogeneous communities, especially as they are outside Western societies Urban anthropology must be based on a range of social and cultural phenomena that will rarely be found in rural areas and which must be analyzed in the light of the diversity of human societies in general, says Ulf Hannerz, like the diversity of museums. From the chocolate museum, the lace museum, the cake museum, the cheese museum or the flower museum, all these culturally-rendered spaces are meant to anonymously remove some objects or crafts that are characteristic of a particular group and which subsequently become part of the immaterial cultural heritage. The Dictionary of Ethnology and Anthropology defines the study of anthropology regarding museography as a necessity inherent in the advancement of ethnography. Researchers such as Robert Park, Ulf Hannerz, Clifford Geertz, André Malraux or Chiara Bortolotto have studied the relationship of the museum with the city, thus implicitly with society. The conclusions they draw have the following aspect in common: the museum has the intrinsic ability to model and structure the immediate society.

Mõnda valdkonna teadusajakirjadest / On scholarly journals in craft research

This article offers a brief survey of international scholarly journals on craft research and related fields (heritage protection and management, vernacular architecture, textile heritage, etc.).
 In Estonian language, studies of material culture are chiefly published in the yearbooks of memory institutions, such as museums. Internationally, special publications focused on craft research were only established in the 21st century. In the Scandinavian countries, the notion of ‘sloyd’ is central to this type of research. In the European context, craft research is often categorised under ‘design history’, whereas in America it can be found under the label ‘material culture’. If one wishes to find studies on traditional wooden architecture, the keyword ‘vernacular’ comes in handy. One important search term is ‘practice-led’ research, as it is the closest one to the approach employed in the teaching and research activities of the Native craft department in University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy. What can be learnt from international publications is their skill in placing case studies within a wider global cultural, historical and economic background.
 Heritage studies are relevant to craft research as craft and its outcomes are often connected with material and immaterial cultural heritage. Interest in sustainable materials and resource use has risen notably during recent decades, and this is also reflected in scholarly publications.
 Some journals stand out with their experimental approach to contributions. For example, video publications could be very useful not only for lab practitioners, but also for craft researchers. The array of publications on craft research is relatively wide, and we should not hesitate to make good use of all the wonderful resources available.

Kulturgüter als Quasi-Subjekte. Herausforderung des Kulturgüterschutzes durch Terrorismus

Abstract Over the past decades, cultural heritage has increasingly become a primary target of terrorist destruction. As such attacks not only hit the cultural objects themselves, but also people and societies inherently associated with them, this article calls for a shift of emphasis in protection of cultural property from mere material substance protection to the relationship between humans and cultural objects. To this end, the present work rethinks cultural heritage as a hybrid entity between legal object and legal person, i. e., as material agency. The article takes a critical view of the traditional juridical distinction between legal object (res) and legal person (persona), and of material and immaterial cultural heritage. By taking full advantage of the legal potential of these four aspects, and reflecting on the recent ruling of the International Criminal Court in The Hague regarding the terrorist destruction of Timbuktu, the article provides a springboard toward an anthropological transformation of the protection of cultural property.

Rádio regional: um patrimônio cultural imaterial e um lugar de memória

O rádio faz parte da história e da cultura de diversas regiões do Brasil. Na forma representativa com que se relaciona com estas culturas, o rádio regional, em especial, pode ser considerado como patrimônio cultural imaterial e lugar de memória. Isso vemos acontecer no programa Ranchinho do Jajá, da Rádio Mantiqueira AM 550 de Cruzeiro-SP, objeto deste artigo, que traz como objetivo analisar como os conceitos de patrimônio cultural imaterial e lugar de memória podem ser aplicados ao rádio. Seguindo a abordagem qualitativa, utiliza a estratégia de análise de conteúdo dos comentários de ouvintes do programa. Os resultados mostram que os conceitos de patrimônio cultural e lugar de memória podem ser aplicados ao rádio, a partir do sentido que a recepção dá para o seu conteúdo e seus elementos. A pesquisa contribui, portanto, com os estudos sobre o rádio como patrimônio cultural imaterial.

Design of Digital Interaction for Complex Museum Collections

Interactive multimedia applications in museums generally aim at integrating into the exhibition complementary information delivered through engaging narratives. This article discusses a possible approach for effectively designing an interactive app for museum collections whose physical pieces are mutually related by multiple and articulated logical interconnections referring to elements of immaterial cultural heritage that would not be easy to bring to the public with traditional means. As proof of this concept, a specific case related to ancient Egyptian civilization has been developed. A collection of Egyptian artifacts such as mummies, coffins, and amulets, associated with symbols, divinities, and magic spells through the structured funerary ritual typical of that civilization, has been explained through a virtual application based on the concepts discussed in the methodological section.