Activity
Session: ‘Heritage at an arm’s length’.Description
In this session we bring together speakers to reflect theoretically on the ‘arm’s length principle’ and its influence on how we govern and manage heritage in the Nordic countries. The arm’s length principle was first coined by chairman of the British Arts Council John Maynard Keynes after the second world war. The principle was an end to multiple means: to stabilise funding for the arts, to give experts rather than politicians or officials final say in what art to support, and to prevent the use of art in political propaganda. The idiomatic phrase signifies that which is attached yet distant; organisations that are connected to the government, operating at distance from the centre of politics. At its core lies the ideal of political neutrality as a guarantor of legitimacy. Whilst the principle has its origins in the arts, it has come to define heritage governance in many liberal democracies.Notwithstanding the awareness in our field, that there is really no such thing as apolitical heritage, today’s burning discussions about the power of representation prompts us to revisit the role of the arm’s length principle. In the UK, the arm has shrunk recently as heritage organisations have been urged by the government to “Retain and Explain” in cases where heritage is contested. In the Nordic countries, we have seen attempts to lengthen the arm, with laws forbidding political intervention in museum matters. What is the meaning of the arm’s length principle in the Nordic countries today? How long is the arm? How long should it be? We look forward to discussing this based on both case studies and conceptual papers.
| Period | 23 Apr 2022 |
|---|---|
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | OsloShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |