Bridging the gap between creativity and preservation

Appeal must go hand in hand with value

For heritage sites, rising visitor numbers are a positive sign, but if they exceed the sites' capacity, adverse effects may emerge. Pressure on landscapes, the environment, infrastructure and cultural spaces will increase, while the visitor experience may also deteriorate. In such cases, success in terms of visitor numbers does not necessarily translate into effective heritage preservation and promotion.

The same applies to creative activities. Incorporating traditional patterns into designed products can help younger audiences discover cultural materials. Presenting rituals through performances can generate interest in heritage. Games, digital applications and souvenirs can also provide new ways to explore history and culture. Such approaches should be encouraged, but their effectiveness ultimately depends on which heritage values are conveyed, how accurately they are represented and whether audiences gain a deeper understanding as a result.

A distinction must be made between the appeal of an activity and the value it creates for heritage. This approach to assessment is increasingly important as heritage becomes more deeply integrated into tourism development and the cultural industries. It also provides a starting point for identifying the gap between creativity and preservation. When heritage becomes the inspiration for new forms of expression, the challenge is not only to attract public interest but also to ensure that such interest leads to understanding, appreciation and continued engagement.

Associate Professor Dr Bui Xuan Dinh, an ethnologist, cautioned that creativity inspired by heritage does not mean making arbitrary changes. Each product should be developed on the basis of a “scientifically grounded plan”, informed by an understanding of the origins, meanings and characteristics of traditional culture, so as to avoid innovations that distort its inherent values.

This requires cooperation among researchers, artists, designers and artisans, combining academic knowledge with practical skills. In particular, ways must be found to bring these products to a wider audience rather than confining them to exhibition spaces.

Creativity must remain rooted in original values

Without thorough research, cultural elements can easily become detached from the contexts in which they originated. What remains may be little more than an attractive appearance, while the meanings that give heritage its value are diminished.

From this perspective, the question of benefits must be considered alongside that of participation. When a community’s knowledge, techniques or stories are transformed into products with economic value, the roles of those who hold that knowledge and the mechanisms for sharing benefits must be clearly defined.

If creators, businesses or organisers receive most of the benefits while communities merely provide cultural materials, the relationship between creativity and preservation will lack a sustainable foundation. Conversely, when communities earn income, gain employment and have incentives to pass on traditional skills, economic value can become a resource for supporting preservation.

The gap between creativity and preservation also stems from limitations in management capacity. Heritage sites have limits to what they can accommodate. A heritage site cannot accommodate unlimited activities, visitor numbers or forms of use. A cultural space that repeatedly hosts events without impact assessments may face growing pressure on its landscape, environment and physical structures.

In this context, preservation should not be understood as keeping heritage in an unchanging state. Associate Professor Dr Dang Van Bai, Vice Chairman of the National Cultural Heritage Council, said preservation should be linked to innovation, shifting from a mindset of “safeguarding” to one of “creation”, with heritage placed at the centre of creativity and experiences, while ensuring that communities can participate and benefit.

This perspective offers a more balanced approach. Heritage needs protection, but protection does not mean separating it from everyday life. Creativity should be encouraged, but it should not involve arbitrarily altering values passed down through generations.

According to Dr Pham Tuan Long, Director of the Ha Noi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, before embarking on creative work, it is necessary to identify which heritage values are being drawn upon, where the source materials come from, who holds the relevant knowledge and which elements must remain unchanged.

This also provides a basis for preventing heritage from being treated merely as raw material. By understanding its origins and meanings, creators can find appropriate ways to reinterpret heritage while maintaining its connection to original values.

Ensuring heritage preservation and fair benefit-sharing

One approach highlighted by many experts is to move away from static preservation towards preservation linked to practice and everyday life. Heritage should be given the conditions needed to continue being practised, passed down, creatively adapted and developed in appropriate ways.

Alongside knowledge, connecting resources is another important consideration. An idea developed during a competition or creative workshop is only the starting point. Networks need to be established among researchers, artisans, designers, artists, educational institutions, businesses and management agencies. Each participant can contribute at a different stage, working towards the shared goal of bringing heritage values into contemporary life in appropriate ways.

Experience from developing cultural products in Duong Lam Ancient Village in Ha Noi demonstrates an approach based on local resources, in which residents participate in product development and benefit from cultural industry activities. This is an important factor in ensuring sustainability.

Alongside the right to participate, benefit-sharing mechanisms must be clearly defined. For products developed from a community’s knowledge, techniques or stories, it is necessary to clarify the contributions of those who hold that knowledge, the rights governing its use and the benefits received by the community. These issues should be considered early in the product development process, particularly when heritage is brought to market.

Amid digital transformation, data quality must also be a priority. Digitising artefacts, developing databases and digital maps, and applying interactive technologies can make heritage more accessible. However, the data must have clear origins, be verified and be presented in the appropriate cultural context.