Making intangible cultural heritage accessible: Perspectives from Belgium
As part of the Crocus Project on Cross-Border Cultural and Creative Tourism in Rural and Remote Areas we have been looking for examples of business models that can help inform our work. We have been looking at many different types of Cultural and Creative Tourism (CCT), including experiences based on both tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Our literature review of the CCT field indicated that Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is particularly important for rural areas, given the relative lack of tangible heritage resources.
We have therefore paid particular attention to new business models based on ICH. In this respect we have been lucky to collaborate with our friends at the Living Heritage Journeys Project, in which partners from six EU countries are developing innovative methods to incorporate ICH into sustainable and meaningful tourism experiences. As we had a lot of contact with our Living Heritage Journeys colleagues from Thomas More in Belgium, we also decided it would be useful for ATLAS to take a look at what is happening in terms of ICH and CCT just across the border in Belgium.
Our recent study visit, focussing on ways in which intangible heritage can be utilised in the development of rural cultural and creative tourism, took in the Wallonian region of Belgium. Wallonia positions itself as a region of heritage and culture, highlighting Artistic creation, folklore and traditions, including Carnivals, Giants, Marches and Firework displays. We visited a number of sites related to ICH in the region.
For example, the small city of Binche (population 34,000) is a major Carnival destination and a centre for craft production. The Lace and Crafts Center of Binche is a non-profit association, which was founded in 1989. It has a shop and the “Le Fuseau” exhibition space, located in the Main Square of Binche, where two professional lace makers carry on the art of lace making by demonstrating it for visitors, who also have the opportunity of seeing pieces in the making. The lace makers were much sought-after for demonstrations in Belgium and abroad and lauded with international prizes, underlining the enduring nature of the lace making tradition of Binche. Lace was first mentioned in Binche in 1697, and by the 18th century there were one thousand lace makers and that “so much lace was made there, it maintains two-thirds of the Town”. The number of lace makers peaked in 1856, with 1,800 lace makers out of a population of around 6,000. Now the ICH of Binche lace is sustained by a dedicated and largely volunteer community of enthusiasts.
The International Museum of Carnival and Masks (MUMASK) sustains the intangible heritage of Binche by linking to celebrations and rituals around the world. There are displays from winter fairs in Europe, masked festivals of the Inuits and other first peoples of North America, as well as displays of mask crafts and costumes from Africa, Oceania and Asia. But the centrepiece of the museum is the Carnival of Binche itself, which is inscribed in UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list. The listing highlights the event’s roots dating back to the Middle Ages, making it “one of Europe’s oldest surviving street carnivals.” The centrepiece comes on Mardi Gras, when the Gille characters in red, yellow and black costumes, ostrich-feather hats, wooden clogs, bells and wax masks, parade through the town.
Around one thousand Gilles gather on Mardi Gras and the Gille’s costume can only be worn on this special day. It is also forbidden to leave the city with it, coining the saying 'a Gille never leaves'. Only men from Binche families or citizens living in Binche for at least 5 years can wear this costume. The strict rules governing participation raises issues of inclusion. Women are heavily involved in Carnival traditions, but they are not permitted to take on certain roles.
In MUMASK, however, new technologies allow everyone to experience the Carnival and how it feels to be a Gille (even if just for a few minutes). You can don the Gille costume to feel how heavy it is, and dance in the wooden clogs. You can also recreate the tradition of throwing oranges at the Carnival crowd. Audio visual material and physical displays also take visitors through the history of the Carnival and its traditions.
An interesting feature of the region is the integration of tangible and intangible heritage. Castles and palaces act as backdrops for creative activities, such as The Mariemont Park, created in the 16th Century as a hunting area for Belgian royalty. Today, the park and the former royal residence form a museum complex set in expansive parkland. As well as tangible cultural heritage, Mariemont is also actively involved with the conservation of ICH through the activities of its Book Workshop “A training, creation and research centre for everything book related”, which has been operating since 1991. The Workshop offers an introduction to the artistic techniques of bookmaking: gravure printing, design and formatting, illustration techniques, calligraphy, making boxes and cases, paper decoration and restoration.
These Wallonian examples provide some important lessons about the continually developing relationship between tangible and intangible heritage and new technologies. AI and new technologies enable an expansion of opportunities to experience ICH in time and space, as MUMASK demonstrates. It is possible to get an impression of the Binche Carnival all year round. Hopefully this might also encourage more physical engagement in the future. These developments open up new business models and policy orientations, as is being currently explored in the Crocus Project, with some interesting examples in a special issue of the Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change produced by Crocus and ATLAS. Another Crocus collection of papers on cultural and creative developments will soon be available in the Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events.
Comments