Policies and practices for the preservation of community-based murals: the case of Riachos, Portugal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14568/cp33570Keywords:
Murals, Ephemerality, Community, Conservation, Decision-makingAbstract
Community-based murals return numerous positive outcomes to the communities involved. However, these works embody a significant sense of impermanence. They are intricately tied to the ever-changing social context from which they emerge, and their placement in public spaces exposes them to a multiplicity of risks. This article examines policies and practices related to the preservation of community-based murals, deploying the Riachos murals as its case study. This involved comprehensively examining the murals’ evolution and gathering data from stakeholders to gain insights into the perceptions of the murals as cultural heritage and the different stances on their perishable nature. This furthermore presents a critical discussion on the key issues involved, with the emphasis placed on the unique character of community-based murals, particularly their dependence on the dynamic social context of their originating community, before calling for a departure from traditional approaches to conservation decision-making.
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