Engaging in design activism and communicating cultural significance through contemporary heritage storytelling: A case study in Brisbane, Australia

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of contemporary storytelling in preserving built heritage, as a mechanism for extending the useful life of buildings. Design/methodology/approach: The authors adopted a qualitative action research approach to consider the role of storytelling. A creative, multi-method approach (i.e. a “Brisbane Art Deco” publication and associated marketing campaign) was used as a case study to explore the contours of such an approach and its efficacy in engaging the community. Findings: This paper highlights the potential of contemporary approaches to heritage storytelling, including utilising digital technologies, to engage a diverse range of people that may not have otherwise participated. The authors propose the value of taking a creative and whole-of-society approach – such as that used in this case study – to heritage storytelling. Research limitations/implications: The case study discussed provides a phenomenological insight into one version of “contemporary heritage storytelling”. The findings have immediate implications for prioritising research into storytelling for the preservation of built heritage. Practical implications: The case study demonstrates opportunities for community engagement through storytelling and highlights potential strategies to effectively contribute to a greater societal value of cultural heritage. Originality/value: This research contributes to theory and practice around the management of cultural heritage, and highlights the usefulness of employing such a strategy to reach and engage a broader audience.

[1]  D. Schoen,et al.  The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action , 1985 .

[2]  Curtis D. Carbonell.  Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide , 2007 .

[3]  Leslie Haddon,et al.  Social Exclusion and Information and Communication Technologies , 2000, New Media Soc..

[4]  Kimberley J. Wilson.  The value of storytelling , 2014 .

[5]  Julian J. Potter.  Design Activism , 2005 .

[6]  Keith N. Hampton,et al.  CORE NETWORKS, SOCIAL ISOLATION, AND NEW MEDIA , 2011 .

[7]  ‘Nocturnal demolitions’: The long march towards heritage legislation in Queensland , 1991 .

[8]  R. J. Bogumil,et al.  The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action , 1985, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[9]  Cheryl Desha,et al.  Evolving a design driven 'hybrid' research approach to inform and advance sustainable outcomes in the built environment sector , 2014 .

[10]  Sam Bucolo,et al.  Gaps in Organizational Leadership: Linking Strategic and Operational Activities through Design‐Led Propositions , 2012 .

[11]  Robert A Young,et al.  Stewardship of the Built Environment: Sustainability, Preservation, and Reuse , 2012 .

[12]  Burra Charter,et al.  The Burra Charter ( The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance ) , 2000 .

[13]  Tony Fry,et al.  Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice , 2008 .

[14]  D. Munjeri,et al.  Tangible and Intangible Heritage: from difference to convergence , 2004 .

[15]  Peter A. Bullen.  Adaptive reuse and sustainability of commercial buildings , 2007 .

[16]  Stuart Walker.  Designing Sustainability: Making radical changes in a material world , 2014 .

[17]  Humberto Cavallin,et al.  Building Stories Revisited: Unlocking the Knowledge Capital of Architectural Practice , 2007 .

[18]  Brian J. McNely.  Shaping organizational image-power through images: Case histories of Instagram , 2012, 2012 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference.

[19]  Thomas Markussen,et al.  The Disruptive Aesthetics of Design Activism: Enacting Design Between Art and Politics , 2011, Design Issues.

[20]  Alastair Fuad‐Luke.  Design Activism: Beautiful Strangeness for a Sustainable World , 2009 .

[21]  Y. Isar.  Creative Economy Report: Widening Local Development Pathways , 2013 .

[22]  C. Tweed,et al.  Built Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Urban Development , 2007 .

[23]  Maryanne M. Gobble,et al.  Design Thinking , 2010, The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible.

[24]  Erica McWilliam,et al.  Teaching for creativity: from sage to guide to meddler , 2009 .

[25]  Vasiliki Georgiou,et al.  A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about qualitative research , 2011 .

[26]  Jean Carroon,et al.  Sustainable Preservation: Greening Existing Buildings , 2010 .

[27]  Nitin Nohria,et al.  Motivación de los empleados: un poderoso modelo nuevo , 2008 .

[28]  Melanie Grunwald,et al.  Convergence Culture Where Old And New Media Collide , 2016 .

[29]  S. Inayatullah.  Six pillars: futures thinking for transforming , 2008 .

[30]  Dennis H. List.  Action research cycles for multiple futures perspectives , 2006 .

[31]  Jeremy Fairbank,et al.  Historical Perspective , 1987, Do We Really Understand Quantum Mechanics?.

[32]  Andrew Peter Wallace McCarthy.  E DITOR ’ S C OMMENTS Diversity of Design Science Research , 2022 .

[33]  L. Armitage,et al.  A historical perspective of the evolution of Australian built heritage and its management , 2014 .

[34]  Lun Li.  The Unremarkable Things Matter: A Book Review of David Silverman's A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about Qualitative Research (2nd ed.) , 2014 .

[35]  W. Noyes.  United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization , 1946, International Organization.

[36]  J. Harris,et al.  Tackling Wicked Problems: Through the Transdisciplinary Imagination , 2010 .

[37]  Charlie Hargroves,et al.  Emerging opportunities for "design thinking" to deliver sustainable solutions in the built environment , 2014 .

[38]  Yahaya Ahmad,et al.  The Scope and Definitions of Heritage: From Tangible to Intangible , 2006 .