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Questioning Heritage: Why We Work With Institutions, Communities, Artists and Archives (In-Person)
Reflections from AHRC early career research fellows on embedded cultural and heritage research
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Past Event
This symposium grows out of the AHRC’s pilot scheme for embedded research in cultural and heritage organisations. Generously supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), eight early career research fellows are undertaking projects hosted by Independent Research Organisations (IROs) across the UK. The V&A acts as the Cohort Coordination and Development team for this fellowship scheme.
The day offers a chance to reflect on the challenges and opportunities of working with collections, organisations and the publics they serve. Structured around four deceptively simple yet expansive questions — Why work with institutions? Why work with communities? Why work with artists? Why work with archives? — the day will be led by pairs of early career research fellows, each in conversation with invited speakers from across the sector.
Themes running through the sessions include access and public engagement; the legacies of colonialism, empire and extraction; historical and creative methodologies for engaging collections; and the sensory and cultural registers of scientific archives. At stake is a larger question: what can embedded arts and humanities research do to reshape practice, open collections to wider publics, and reframe how heritage is understood today?
Designed as a sector-facing, generous conversation, the symposium is for heritage professionals, researchers and early career scholars exploring pathways into the cultural and heritage sector, as well as anyone interested in the future of how we work with institutions, communities, artists and archives.
Online ticket registration available, please see below.
All ticket reservations (in person and online) close on 23 November, 2025.
Access
Online ticket registration available, please see below.
All ticket reservations (in person and online) close on 23 November, 2025.
Access
If you require step-free access or have any further questions regarding accessibility, please email accessibility@vam.ac.uk.
We ask that requests for step-free access are made at least 24 hours before your visit. If you would like more information about accessibility at V&A South Kensington please visit, https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/disability-access.
The nearest public entrance and exit which opens between 10.00 – 17.45 is the Exhibition Road entrance and is step-free and has an automatic opening door at the bottom of the walkway. Lifts are available to access the Hochhauser Auditorium, on Level 1, from Learning Centre on level 0. Accessible toilets and a gender-neutral toilet are located in Level 0.
The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, funds internationally outstanding independent researchers across the whole range of the arts and humanities: history, archaeology, digital content, philosophy, languages and literature, design, heritage, area studies, the creative and performing arts, and much more. The quality and range of research supported by AHRC works for the good of UK society and culture and contributes both to UK economic success and to the culture and welfare of societies across the globe. We are pleased to fund this pilot fellowship scheme, supporting early research careers in the heritage, museums, galleries, libraries, and archives sector
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Header image: ‘Routes to Roots’ network at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Credit: Ross Fraser McLean, 2025.