Cultural heritage and local knowledge in a participatory territorial project: An analysis of craftsmanship and performance within museums in Italy and Spain

In line with the initial call for a doctoral project pertaining the analysis of local forms of intangible heritage in participatory research contexts, my dissertation posits the possibility of establishing a theoretical and methodological basis from which to analyze craftwork knowledge as a manifestation of intangible heritage through the activation of public memory via the performative repetition of craft work. Craft work occupies a central role within intangible heritage, as it can be defined as a two-dimensional activity composed of a technical-creative process and a relational dynamic that connects apprentices and masters with the knowledge intrinsic to the selected material. Thus, from an methodological basis based on arts-based research for observing and documenting workshops and educational activities, the focus is placed on the act of practicing a craft as the starting point for framing the creative potential of the workshop spaces within museums as a promoters of intangible heritage. As such, fieldwork research entails an analysis based on observation and participation in practices of artisanal work within two museum entities, TrasiMemo: Trasimeno Lake Memory Bank in Paciano (PG) and the Museu Tèxtil in Terrassa, Spain. At TrasiMemo, the topic manifests as an active space for creative collaboration among the members of the craft workshops for the creation of public art and the continuity of community-led workshops. As for Museu Tèxtil, the analysis starts from the activation of the textile heritage present in the museum and bibliographic collections through educational, curatorial, and information dissemination activities of the intangible aspects behind textiles. Ultimately, the goal of the research process is to highlight how artisans, apprentices and museums are all intrinsic to the continuity of oral forms of public memory that find a material continuity and embodiment in craftsmanship practices.