Inclusive Heritage: Learning from Urban Art in Berlin

Summary

Alternative, subcultural, or otherwise non-mainstream forms of heritage are increasingly being recognized, both in the social imaginary and in the discipline. Such moments provide archaeologists with opportunities for actively working towards a more inclusive and diversified heritage practice. Specifically, my work explores the potential of urban art walking tours and workshops in the borough of Kreuzberg (Berlin, Germany) from a contemporary archaeological standpoint. As tour guides present painted surfaces to an audience, public views of urban place-making and of the right to the city are transformed. As a result of making visible the often-marginalized practice of urban art, its legitimacy is increased and, consequently, the notion of what constitutes cultural heritage is challenged. Employing queer pedagogy, tours and workshops take on an archaeological dimension, as explicit and embodied knowledge is shared horizontally between writers/artists/guides and tour goers. I contend that these small-scale gestures of showing graffiti and street art work towards breaking down the broader barriers between mainstream and alternative, experts and communities, as well as authorized and marginalized ways of being in cityscapes.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Mobilizing the Past: Archaeology as Activism

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15798