Paper short abstract:

Breaking the definitions of community by expanding considerations of scope and scale represents an important shift in the participative turn in heritage. An ongoing ethnography at Madrid’s Beti Jai begs reflection on how these changes affect both participating groups and productions.

Paper long abstract:

Global iterations of inclusion, participation and cohesion are natural solutions to breaking up hegemonic structures and narratives in the heritage sector, specifically regarding historic problems of governance, representation and context. However, they have become additional criteria in an already complex sphere of negotiation. In Spain, the participative turn in heritage has seen slower growth. Yet, one long-term project in Madrid, Beti Jai, has found success by breaking the fuzzier ground rules about heritage practices and participation itself: the definition of community. Expanding the scope and even scale of what constitutes a heritage community or rather a community in heritage practice, has led to a multi-stakeholder conservation effort with professional and nonprofessional groups and mutual construction of the now famous Madrid fronton court. While not without its practical challenges to participation and collaboration, it represents an important shift in heritage practices and the play of rules, begging practitioners and researchers to reflect on how these changes affect the productions themselves, the roles institutions have in adapting to them, and how these episodes in heritage making shape their own group activity and strategies pertaining to future projects. By analyzing the cultural dynamics, we can begin to identify systemic opportunities and flaws, gain insight on projects charged with similar participatory goals, even beyond the heritage sector. This paper will primarily draw from an ongoing ethnography in Madrid and compare the local issues with other participatory heritage planning around Spain. If a rigorous consideration of the complexity of negotiating heritage is made, possibilities for the heritage sector to navigate delicate transitions toward other goals such as sustainability can be made.