DECOLONIZING THE PROJECT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE: FROM RHETORIC OF PARTICIPATION TO PLURIVERSE DEVELOPMENT. A qualitative analysis of European projects in the CH field

This paper addresses the issue of plurality in cultural heritage design from a specific perspective: participatory processes in the design-driven valorization of cultural heritage. Such processes, especially in the valorization of cultural heritage, are often considered intrinsically inclusive, capable of respecting and enabling the plurality and multiplicity of heritage and its holders through active involvement. Therefore, they are supposed implicitly sufficient in themselves to guarantee the ethical sustainability and multifaceted nature of the results.The reflection instead starts from the assumption that often (sometimes unconsciously) these processes see design acting as a (conceptual) structure of authority, according to a mainly Western model, which involves a tendentially colonising approach, placed in a position of presumed superiority (of knowledge, resources, capacity, skills) with respect to the object of the project, i.e. the heritage and the communities.. In this sense, some value prejudices of contemporary design (according to which design action, if conscious, and therefore situated, contextual, negotiated and co-designed with all stakeholders, is necessarily ethically positive and therefore culturally and socially sustainable) place participatory processes for cultural heritage (co-design, co-curation and co-creation) as positive ex-ante, when in fact they can be very flawed, if conditioned by a “dominant” approach and guided by a hetero-directed perspective, definable as tokenism, that is, that of “allowing” participation in heritage through a “token”, but without truly transforming the narrative.From a previous review of the literature (Lupo, 2024) it emerges that awareness on this topic is starting to make its way in the scientific-academic community, although it remains at a fairly theoretical level, since it is not yet evident how these critical positions are applied and work in practice, nor is a clear evaluation of their effectiveness provided.This paper therefore takes a further step toward identifying and analyzing the current practical implications of these theoretical frameworks. Through a qualitative analysis of approximately 100 projects funded by the European Community between 2014 and 2023 (including the H2020 and Horizon EU programs), we seek to determine whether and how it is possible to “decentralize” those practices and customs associated with participatory design (PD) in the cultural heritage field. Initial findings show that, despite a growing focus on an ethical approach to participation, a genuine epistemological and disciplinary shift is necessary for the decolonizing perspective to become more explicit and informed.