C O N T E X T 1 0 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 7 25 Preservation Trust and a group from the Albert Dock. The criticism that heritage was being destroyed was considered to be unfounded. Since the 1980s the Albert Dock has been reused for the Maritime Museum, the Tate Gallery, apartments and shops. It attracts visitors from all over the world. St George’s Hall has been turned from a white elephant to a flagship attraction. With English Heritage support, dedicated world heritage and buildings at risk officers have been appointed. The Heritage and Environment of Liverpool Project (HELP) has been established and the Liverpool Heritage Investment Framework set up, partly in response to the Stop the Rot campaign championed by the local press. As a result, such dilapidated buildings as the Florence Institute have received Stage 1 HLF funding, with match funding for community-based uses. Liverpool’s recent development is making use of its heritage assets. Cultural values and the making of places are underpinning economic regeneration. The new with the old will form part of tomorrow’s culture. Graham Arnold,Wirral Borough Council Public perceptions of heritage conditioned by inner conviction, and moderated by the external perceptions of others. The BEN Discover Heritage Project focused on working across Scotland to make heritage participation a part of the lives of members of ethnic minorities. It relied on one worker roving across the country, working with small groups. The aim was to facilitate the nurturing of interests by breaking down the illusion of barriers and the fears of the host community. With a reservoir of goodwill on both sides mistakes could be overcome. Projects included visits to Culzean Castle and the People’s Palace in Glasgow. Ethnic minorities love the heritage of Britain. Some artefacts at Culzean reflected Britain’s imperial past of importing objects from abroad. The groups could identify their significance and have pride that their value was recognised in British collections. At another project, an iron-age site with reconstructions of huts, one visitor with African relations observed that ‘my uncle has three of these’, and was able to show a mastery of the details of hut construction and a deep practical knowledge of basket making. At Stirling Castle groups of children with disabilities were able to dress up as lords and ladies in historically accurate costumes. Visits to Pollok Country Park in Glasgow led children to find out about the variety of activities, such as horse riding, tile painting and orienteering that could be enjoyed in verdant surroundings relatively near to their homes in densely built-up areas. In the Indian sub-continent, for instance, the countryside represents poverty and ignorance, not freedom. A change in location and culture impressed on them that it was available to return to with their families whenever they wished. Visits to the Royal Museum were arranged for two groups of teenage girls who designed and made jewellery of black and African origin and created stories about them. A small exhibition was arranged with photos of the girls wearing the pieces made. The interaction between the two groups was based on fun and new friendships. Judy Ling Wong made wry observations about traditional British culture. Where for example had the traditional Christmas turkey, potato and Christmas tree originally come from? In world terms the British are an ethnic minority compared to the Indians and the Chinese. Their colonial past has left a legacy of buildings and structures in far-off lands that were copies of those back home, such as churches. Other elements, such as verandas, subtly adapted foreign living to climatic and cultural difference, and were re-imported to the home country. Britons from different backgrounds now can see the results from two perspectives. It is important to recognise that such different views give the possibility of a sense of richness and a journey of discovery on both sides. The UK government is in two minds about Englishness and Britishness. This betrays a lack of confidence.What it needs to recognise is that the more people are accepted, the faster they will integrate. It should realise that immigrants as a whole are a IHBC Annual School 2007 IHBC Annual School 2007 IHBC Annual School 2007 Judy LingWong OBE, director of the Black Environment Network Judy LingWong was a breath of fresh air; she was full of wise words with a simple but profound message. With a smiling Asian face she introduced herself as Welsh. The audience laughed and sat up attentively. Her first slide was of a group from various ethnic backgrounds. She pointed out that the smiles were British, part of the absorption of culture through the subtle arrangement of the muscles of the face. British Indians, for example, were often taken to task in India for laughing too loudly. Of such is culture and absorption made. Judy Ling Wong is the UK director of the Black Environment Network (BEN), an organisation with an international reputation as a pioneer in the field of enabling full participation by ethnic communities in the built and natural environment. The word ‘black’ was used deliberately and symbolically as a sign of the greatest visual distinction, yet of inclusion, for groups including a wide range of black, white and other ethnic backgrounds. Who we are and what we achieve is
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=