The heritage sector in Canada needs to come together and do some restructuring if we hope to address prevalent issues such as climate change, reconciliation, diversity, and more.
MTBA has pushed for action in the heritage field, particularly with respect to the reuse of existing buildings. Conservationists have the cross-disciplinary and collaborative skills that are required to be leaders in this field.
Presently, Canada’s heritage sector is full of varying opinions, policies, and framework, that differ depending on region, sector of work, or even governmental department. Commonalities must be found if we want to move forward as a field and address any inherent biases and/or obstacles that may be present.
Recently, the National Trust, in partnership with heritage organizations across the country, commissioned Environics to create a survey for the heritage sector. This survey is part of a larger project, the Heritage Reset, which is designed to initiate key conversations within the field about our values and the purpose of our work. Questions ranged from what issues the heritage sector are currently invested in, where focus is required, as well as questions regarding personal backgrounds and connections to heritage. The goal is to determine who the main players in the field are, and to verify if there is a dominant group making most of the decisions involving Canada’s heritage.
Following the release of the survey, the National Trust conducted a webinar on Wednesday May 11, 2022. The purpose of the webinar was to convey the aim of the survey, delve into specific questions, and gain feedback. Noteworthy ideas brought forward during the session include: the reinstatement of a national heritage forum, looking at the new heritage legislation that’s been introduced in Québec, and looking at America’s national structure for heritage as a precedent.
This reflection by the heritage sector is essential, where fixed definitions and policy framework present in the field can be detrimental to the conservation of Canada’s heritage and the environment. The heritage sector has long been preoccupied with tangible heritage, physical elements that one can touch, as seen through our fixation with the authenticity of materials and the preservation of spaces. However, with this approach, intangible heritage which includes non-physical traditions, and expressions, has been neglected. Consequently, we preserve elements that we no longer know how to make, prioritize buildings that have more original materials, and regard buildings as inert and unchanging instead of as active and evolving. MTBA agrees that we should view buildings as playing active roles in our society and contributing to issues such as climate change, and that we should place emphasis on many of the inherent passive sustainability features that these buildings possess.
Thus, rethinking the heritage field to be more inclusive and sustainable is essential to preserving our rich heritage as a country and in accelerating the heritage movement as a positive, essential, and progressive force.
Once the results of the survey are assessed, the National Trust plans to create a new case for heritage and promote this new case in a campaign. Furthermore, many of the important issues from the survey will be discussed during the upcoming National Trust Conference in October.
For more information on why the National Trust is polling the Heritage Conservation Field please see the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZLAWHeX46U
Shifting Focus and adapting methodologies:
The Shikinen Sengu Shrine, located in Ise, Japan, is a shrine that is reconstructed every 20 years, as it is the techniques, not the materials, that are viewed as important.
The totem poles of the SGang Gwaay, a small island in British Columbia, are purposefully left to decay overtime by the Haida people of Canada, and new ones are built to continue the tradition: By acknowledging nature as a living and active thing that should be respected, we can cultivate more environmentally responsible and equitable practices, policies, collective responsibility, and using only that which is needed.
