Space to breathe - nurturing an integrated heritage

The European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 made a strong commitment towards collaboration between those working in the heritage sector and those working in the creative arts, as evidenced in the criteria for the associated Creative Europe funding calls. The question of cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary working across the sub-sectors has also been considered in initiatives like the European Commission’s OMC working group on participatory governance in cultural heritage. This paper considers the obstacles to collaboration and explores them through a number of Scottish case studies linked to the author’s research practice. It then goes on to suggest approaches that would support a more integrated practice, including proposals for dedicated funding criteria.