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Democratising a decolonised functional and cultural heritage space

Sobers, Shawn

Authors

Shawn Sobers Shawn.Sobers@uwe.ac.uk
Professor of Cultural Interdisciplinary Practice



Abstract

This presentation discussed how Fairfield House in Bath, the former residence of Emperor Haile Selassie, could be considered a decolonised space - predominantly Black led, catering for predominantly (though not solely) Black audiences. Sobers discussed how even in apparent decolonised spaces, there is still a further need for democratising practices to take place as an ongoing process, as it can't be assumed that "diverse" demographics equals everyone in the participant stakeholder groups feeling included all of the time. Fairfield House serves two distinct and dominant roles - 1) it is a functional day centre for senior citizens, fulfilling the wish of the Emperor, and 2) a place of pilgrimage as a site of spiritual and international cultural significance. As a director of Fairfield House CIC, Sobers discusses the attempts they have made for addressing different stakeholder expectations of the space, and strategies towards being a truly ongoing democratised and decolonised functional and heritage site with multiple purposes and responsibilities as custodians of the space.

Citation

Sobers, S. (2019, September). Democratising a decolonised functional and cultural heritage space. Paper presented at CKC 2019: Rethinking, Resisting and Reimagining the Creative City Conference, Watershed, Bristol

Presentation Conference Type Conference Paper (unpublished)
Conference Name CKC 2019: Rethinking, Resisting and Reimagining the Creative City Conference
Conference Location Watershed, Bristol
Start Date Sep 13, 2019
End Date Sep 13, 2019
Deposit Date Nov 30, 2019
Keywords Democratisation, decolonisation, heritage, diversity, inclusivity, haile selassie
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/4750820