Publication details
Embodying the Past, Identity, and Change: Intangible Cultural Heritage as a Performance
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | The evolving nature of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is increasingly being acknowledged as living heritage, moulded by time and space. Erika Fischer-Lichte considers culture to be a continuously enacted performative (1999). From this perspective, study subjects are seen as ongoing processes in motion. Performance involves specific ideas or actions to be presented or experienced. It may include actions starting with a rehearsal process and leading to a culturally encoded pattern of behaviour (Schechner, 1977). The similarities in performance and ICH lie in creating a sense of belonging through shared understanding of the past or present. "Applying" performance qualities is relevant to discussions about cultural heritage as it aligns with the concept of ICH and its profound connection to issues of identity (Smith, 2006). In my doctoral research, I approach manifestations of ICH as performances that are not just observed but actively created and preserved by the people. Following Crouch (2010), it can be emphasized that the meanings of heritage are not static but are actively practised by the people who experience heritage. This premise also corresponds with Smith's idea "that heritage had to be experienced for it to be heritage." (Smith, 2006, 47). Through a lens of performativity, I delve into how bearers embody the fundamental characteristics of ICH outlined in the 2003 Convention: self-identification, constant recreation, connection to cultural identity, authenticity, and an inseparable relationship with human rights (Lenzerini, 2011). The research also explored the links between the manifestations of ICH and sustainable development, which has emerged as one cause of blurring the line between the intangible and the tangible. During my research in the Czech Republic, through the lens of performativity, I gained insight into how actors and the “public” perceive heritage, how it is shaped in national and regional contexts, and what is considered heritage. |