An Alternative Approach to Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage
Abstract
Since the adoption of UNESCO’s 2003 “Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage,” museum and heritage scholars have been examining intangible cultural heritage (ICH) whilst considering the “new museological” approaches and how museums are integrating ICH into their work. While studies have focused on examining how already-established museums are adapting to face the challenges of safeguarding ICH, museums whose “content” is considered an ICH element by UNESCO standards have rarely been explored. This article supports research on museums specifically dedicated to the safeguarding, promotion, and presentation of intangible cultural elements by introducing the Museo del Baile Flamenco (MBF) as a case study. Part of a larger research project focusing on traditional performing arts museums, the MBF in Seville is thought to represent an additional alternative within the new museological approaches. This article provides a summary of research into the roles of museums in safeguarding ICH and discusses some of the speculated challenges of working with ICH in the museum context against initial research findings. These suggest that examining this type of museum not only illustrates other approaches to working with ICH, but also allows certain expert statements to be contested.