Paper short abstract:

This article seeks to understand the perceptions of the agents involved in the practice of clay figures in Estremoz, concerning the results and sustainability of the safeguarding plan, implemented by the Municipality, since the inscription of the practice on the UNESCO List of ICH, in 2017.

Paper long abstract:

This article seeks to understand the perceptions of the agents involved in the practice of clay figures in Estremoz, south of Portugal, concerning the results and sustainability of the safeguarding plan, implemented by the Municipality.

As part of a research project (PRT/BD/152863/2021) about the practice of clay figuration in Portugal, this study focuses on the community of clay artists, seeking to examine the results of the safeguarding plan, at its social and economic level, as well as the effects on the practice, since its implementation in 2017, following its inscription on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The article is contextualized by the examining of the initial plan carried out by the Municipality, guided by the operational principles for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. This is followed by semi-structured interviews with agents from the Municipal Museums, seeking to understand what type of instruments and methods are used to monitor the plan, ensuring not only its application and maintenance, but the sustainability of the practice, in terms of creativity and economy, present and future, for the practitioners. Similar methods are applied to the observation of the artisans’ perspectives and perceptions on the impact of the plan, both on their practice and their daily lives, since its inscription on the UNESCO world heritage list, to date.

Using the ethnographic method, we wish to understand the convergences and divergences of the perceptions of the artisans and those promoting the safeguard plan and thus contribute to better and more sustainable future results.