Possibilities of Emptiness: Working with the Echoes of Industrial Culture

Professor Dr Mike RobinsonDirector, Ironbridge International

Institute for Cultural HeritageUniversity of Birmingham, UK

Every society lives with the echoes of its past

A different kind of monumentalism

Identity remains when structures are gone

Reflections on a World Without Remains and Reminders

• Histories are all in the future

• A place of different conversations

• Amnesiac communities

• Does it matter?

BIG Question

Assuming we consider industrial heritage to worth retaining, preserving, protecting,

interpreting, etc. …….HOW do we go about it?

SHIFTFrom:• emphasis on

‘museumification’

• reliance on public sector subsidy / culture

• public sector / ‘expert’ management

SHIFTTo:• integration into

wider cityscape / landscape / ‘policyscape’

• increased private sector engagement

• sustainable management practices

The Fate of Industrial Space

Without an agenda for industrial heritage we are condemned to coffee shops, housing estates and retail parks

At the same time:

How many art centres do we need?

Every Space is a Possibility

Multi-level Approach

Policy Level

• Integrated Industrial Heritage Landscape approach

• Urban vision – alignment of community desire, political will and financial planning

• Embedded in economic policy and contemporary industrial sectors

• Planning for scaling back public subsidy

• Positive incentives for continuing industrial use

• Adaptive re-use

• New re-incarnations

Sheffield’s Little Mesters Yards

Multi-level Approach

Site Management Level

• Flexible utilisation of resources – planning• Maximising audience appeal / participation• Flexible utilisation of resources – diverse

revenue streams/ stakeholders• Planning for scaling back public subsidy

‘Connecting’

Ironbridge

Heritage Branding

The Big Challenge for Industrial Heritage: …….

Concluding Words• Integration

• Connecting

• Creativity

• Conversations

• Re-incarnation

• Death

Thank You

www.heritageculture.com