Inspiring speakers on CAG’s Contact day 'Looking forward'

After a warm welcome by Prof Dr Bart Raymaekers (Rectorial Advisor for Art, Culture and Heritage at KU Leuven), Dr Ollie Douglas, curator of the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL, Reading, UK) kicked off the event. He took us through his thoughts on the origins and purpose of the museum. Certain narratives dominate rural history thinking, in terms of re-enactment and interaction in a museum setting. But rural heritage, in his experience, offers so many opportunities to dig deeper and uncover the stratification of our shared historical (rural) experiences.

The MERL's approach centres around three main strands, namely place, material and nostalgia, which, Douglas says, provide tools to present rural history in an accessible, inclusive, and purposeful way. Totally future-proof if you ask us! Some stimulating questions from the audience provided further food for thought.

This live presentation was followed by a video message from Claus Kropp, manager of the Lauresham Laboratory for Experimental Archaeology in Germany. As president of the International Association of Agricultural Museums (AIMA), he presented the project 'A Year on the Field'. It was, clearly, an impassioned plea for international and interdisciplinary cooperation. 

The link to the current topic of climate change was made by Professor Emeritus Debra Reid. She is also the curator of Agriculture and the Environment at The Henry Ford Museum in Michigan (US).

In her video presentation, she elaborated on the task she sees for agricultural museums, living history farms, and centres of expertise to reflect critically with the public on climate change and the need for sustainable food systems. "Agricultural collections that clarify the links between pre-industrial agricultural practices and post-1950 agriculture, contribute to the future literacy of their audience," Reid said.

From Amsterdam, we welcomed Charlotte Kleyn, curator of the History of Food at the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam. She guided us through a collection of cookbooks from 1593 to the present, showing us etiquette books, menus, and recipe leaflets. Kleyn discussed the challenges of preserving culinary heritage for future generations.

With lunch coming up, we delved into the discourse of culinary heritage processes with Dr. Loïc Bienassis' video presentation. He is affiliated to the Institut Européen d'Histoire et des Cultures de l'Alimentation (IEHCE, University of Tours, FR).

He explored the concept of heritage. Heritage, as such, does not exist. It is the shared values that a community ascribes to an object or tradition that allow us to talk about heritage and contribute to identity creation. In a culinary heritage process, it is the culinary and gastronomic values that communities attach to dishes and recipes that make it heritage. Bienassis' presentation offered inspiration and reflection.