Event
This event, staged at the V&A South Kensington in June 2025, explored the use of sound, song and storytelling as a means to create, preserve or recover important layers of understanding within built heritage sites. The event convened a panel of international artists, researchers and cultural practitioners to discuss their work in this space, including case studies from Pakistan, Iraq and Syria.
Conference
The Victoria & Albert Museum’s Culture in Crisis Programme in partnership with the University of Sterling and Social Science Baha, staged a major international conference from 2 to 4 April 2025, in Kathmandu, Nepal.
2025 marks ten years since the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake(s) struck Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people, and causing catastrophic damage to lives and livelihoods, as well as physical, social, and cultural infrastructure. The incident deeply impacted heritage across the country; from internationally recognised monuments and heritage sites to community and religious heritage buildings and landscapes, objects and museums, and the myriad cultural practices that enrich the lives of Nepal’s inhabitants. In the aftermath of the Earthquake, heritage has emerged as a key sector for post-disaster recovery, not only because of its role in Nepal’s economy, but also as a central aspect of collective memory, national and local identity, and social and psychological well-being.
As Nepal commemorates ten years since the Earthquake, entering what is officially referred to as ‘long-term recovery', it is time to reflect on the many forms of recovery and reconstruction processes that have taken place.
Event
This in-person event staged in April 2025 at the V&A South Kensington brought together Palestinian artists, cultural organisers and activists to discuss the impact of conflict on the Gazan arts and culture sector. The speakers discussed what has been lost in terms of Gaza’s art infrastructure, explored the ways Palestinian cultural practitioners are salvaging what remains, imagined liberation beyond the status quo and spoke about the future of their work in this space.
Event
This in-person event, which took place at the V&A South Kensington in February 2025, brought together two cultural professionals who have been working in Afghanistan for over seventeen years to discuss their work, engagement with local communities across the country, and the role heritage protection can play as an integral part of peacebuilding and reconciliation processes.
Event
This in-person event at the V&A South Kensington, convened by the museum’s Culture in Crisis Programme in partnership with World Monuments Fund Britain in January 2025, drew together speakers to discuss emergent risks to heritage and the announcement of the 2025 Watch. From the British Isles to North and Sub-Saharan Africa, they explored case studies from Watch lists old and new, exploring successes, challenges and some of the changes seen over the past decades – and look ahead to a new cycle of work about to begin.