EVERYTHING IS AWESOME: How the LEGO movie helps me reconcile heritage practice, philosophy & theory
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2019-04-07

Ever wondered what the LEGO Movie and Heritage Management have in common? Are you Emmet Brickowski or a Master Builder? Can you survive in a world of multiple values and contested heritage? Or are you one for the rule book and the comfort zone of working within a clear authorised heritage? Exploring the language of heritage management, I will consider how we have given ourselves a philosophical straightjacket based on preservation, protection and heritage audits. I will explore how we can challenge this approach and create a more dynamic and engaging vision of heritage management based on the understanding and creation of cultural value. I will actively embrace the creative qualities of culture and heritage and the conflicts and challenges it can bring. I will challenge why we try to seek the ‘right’ answer with our interventions/engagement when the ‘best’ may actually be the best outcome. To help me navigate these issues, I have created my own sort of theory/philosophy drawn from the LEGO movie. Through it I will show how theory and the philosophy behind what we do can actually help us map a route through these complex issues and leave a more lasting legacy from our interventions. 

Neil Redfern (Historic England)