Nationellt centrum för kulturmiljöns hantverk : The Craft Laboratory - National Centre for Heritage Craft Skills -

• Sweden is full of cultural treasures, and their maintenance requires a great deal of resources. One critical resource is knowledge. Many of our protected cultural environments are the result of extensive craftsmanship, which means that successful conservation of cultural heritage is not possible without advanced craft skills. A simple division into material and immaterial cultural heritage is problematic in terms of craftsmanship, since one cannot survive without the other. Craftsmanship is required for effective conservation, and conservation is necessary for the survival of many crafts. Crafts have to be practised – only then are they maintained and developed. The Craft Laboratory is a new way of dealing with this old problem, that is, the need for craft skills in the conservation of old buildings and cultural environments. The University of Gothenburg and the Swedish National Heritage Board have therefore, together with the Church of Sweden, the National Property Board Sweden, Region Västra Götaland, City of Mariestad, the Swedish Local Heritage Federation as well as craft enterprises and trade organisations, opened a national centre for crafts in conservation. The main task of the centre is to document, pass down and develop weak and endangered craft skills, and to initiate crafts-oriented research and development work within the practice of conservation of cultural heritage. The ambition is also to develop and provide expert support and a knowledge bank for professionals who work in the field or are in charge of the upkeep of our cultural treasures. This text presents the operating blueprint of the Craft Laboratory. Although the issues of motive and theoretical perspectives are addressed to some extent, this introductory text is primarily meant to serve the function of a programme specification. It is intended to answer general questions: What exactly is the Craft Laboratory? What purpose does it have? It starts out by defining and discussing the concepts and epithet included in the heading. How are the crafts in conservation demarcated from other craft practices? What ambition is contained in the epithet ‘national centre’? What do we mean when we refer to the laboratory approach? The text will then briefly present the organisation and approach of the Craft Laboratory using examples from current projects. How are craft skills documented? How are theory and practice integrated? What types of projects and activities can be arranged?

Subject headings

HUMANIORA  -- Annan humaniora -- Kulturstudier (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Other Humanities -- Cultural Studies (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap -- Pedagogiskt arbete (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences -- Pedagogical Work (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Samhällsbyggnadsteknik -- Husbyggnad (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Civil Engineering -- Building Technologies (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Arbetslivsstudier (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Work Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Hantverklig

hantverk

immateriellt kulturarv

kulturmiljöns hantverk

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kap (subject category)