Since 2002, Culture Lab has contributed in the design, management and achievement of more than 80 large cooperation projects and programmes in the fields of cultural heritage as well as in contemporary creation and cultural industries in Europe, Middle-East and Africa.
Previous Projects
CHEurope_Critical Heritage Studies and the Future of Europe
“Critical Heritage Studies and the Future of Europe_Towards an integrated, interdisciplinary and transnational training model in cultural heritage research and management” [CHEurope] focuses on developing a new integrated theoretical and methodological framework to enhance the academic and professional training and open future job opportunities in cultural heritage preservation, management and promotion. Heritage has commonly been…
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Nearch_New scenarios for a community-involved archaeology
Over the last 25 years, archaeology and cultural heritage management have undergone significant scientific and professional developments. Coordinated by the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap), the NEARCH project, supported by the European Commission for 5 years (2013-2018) in the framework of the “Culture” programme, is a European-wide cooperation network of 14 partners…
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Human Cities_Challenging the City Scale
Human Cities is a concept created in 2006 by the Belgian association Pro Materia and co-funded during the period 2014-2018 by the “Creative Europe” Programme of The European Union. It is shaped as a multidisciplinary European network composed of various profiles: universities, design centers and design weeks, ICT platforms, service design and creative design consultancies.…
SWICH_Sharing a World of Inclusion, Creativity and Heritage
SWICH – Sharing a World of Inclusion, Creativity and Heritage The project builds on the outcomes and success of three earlier EU-funded projects: READ-ME I & II, and the Ethnography Museums and World Cultures [RIME], funded by the EU’s “Culture” Programmes for the period 2008-2012. All were aimed at rethinking the role of Museums of…
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ACE – Archaeology in Contemporary Europe (2007-2012)
Launched in 2007, the programme “Archaeology in contemporary Europe: professional practice and public outreach” (ACE) ended on 21 September 2012 with a seminar at the École du Louvre. Leaded by Inrap, this programme was managed with support from the “Culture” programme (Culture 2007-2013) of the European Commission. It had a global budget of 4.8 M€,…
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Africa: Museums and heritage for which public? (2005 – 2006)
This project, supported by the European Union and coordinated by the Ethnographic Department of the Africa Museum Tervuren [BE], has brought a specific reflection and exchange of experience on the definition of cultural heritage and the role of museums in Africa today. In partnership with a number of European museums, the project has promoted the…
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Archaeolandscapes (2010 – 2015)
In many parts of Europe over the past 60-plus years archaeological air photography has brought to light more previously unknown heritage sites than any other method of exploration. Air photography has now been joined by satellite imagery, airborne laser scanning and a variety of airborne and ground-based survey techniques. Better public understanding and appreciation of…
AREA – Archives of European Archaeology (1998 – 2008)
AREA – ARchives of European Archaeology is a research network dedicated to the history of archaeology, with particular emphasis on the archives of the discipline, their promotion and preservation. Initiated in 1998, this ambitious research project aimed, through the study of unpublished archives related to archaeological research, to highlight the role played by this discipline…
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L’art de guérir en Afrique – Entre tradition et modernité (2004 – 2005)
Within this 12-months cooperation project, the Museum of Medicine in Brussels and the Lisbon Geographic Society, in partnership with the Museums of African Art in Dakar, co-operated in the compilation of the inventory of the collections related to traditional medicine held in the Museum of Dakar. Various educational and research activities on the selected topic…
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Castles from the Crusades period (2006 – 2007)
Building on the concrete exemples of the Sahyun and Craq des Chevaliers castles (Syria), this 12-months project aimed at a better preservation and promotion of a heritage typical of many countries of the Mediterranean Basin, sharing its values between East and West. In this framework, Culture Lab provided assistance to ICOMOS-France, the project leader, in…
CEC – Cradles of European Culture (2010 – 2015)
Thirteen institutions from nine countries launched a European network built around a historical period that is emblematic for Europe’s formative decades: the Early Middle Ages. Supported by the EU “Culture” programme, this ambitious project had a 5-years duration (2010-2015). It is during this moment in history that the idea of Europe as we know it…
Colonial architecture in Benin and Congo
Considered globally, the colonial period in sub-Saharan Africa begins with the Portuguese settlements in the fifteenth century and, in a sense, ended in South Africa at the end of apartheid in 1991. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the vast African territory was concerned by the same colonial project, which despite the nuances of the…
Couleurs de la Chrétienté de l’Orient vers l’Occident
This cooperation project between Europe and Syria, coordinated by the Assyriology and Near-Easter Archaeology of the Liège University, has led to the restoration of a Byzantine mosaic belonging to a 5th century church. This work, carried out in collaboration between European and Syrian restorers and experts, has ended with a travelling exhibition. DATES: September 2004…
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Cupolas and habitats: A building tradition between East and West
The buildings with cupolas represent an ancient architectural heritage and a building tradition shared between the West and the East. In Syria many villages, often abandoned, attest of this remarkable tradition. This project, carried out in cooperation between the Syrian Ministry of Culture and Heritage and various specialized European institutions, aims at defining preservation recommendations…
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DECORUM – Inventaire du décor peint de l’architecture domestique en Europe
The project « Decorum » proposes the development of an inventory methodology of the home painted decors in partner countries through an exchange of expertise in the frame of three scientific workshops. Descriptive sheets will be made and tested locally to deploy this methodology in partner countries through in‐field activities. DATES: October 2012 ► September…
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Desire for Freedom
The project “The Desire For Freedom” is a unique attempt to offer a contemporary post‐Cold War perspective on European art and history since 1945. About 150 works from over 30 countries are displayed within a travelling exhibition in Berlin, Milano, Tallinn and Krakow, together with satellite exhibitions in Thessaloniki and Prague. How do we wish…
EDF – European Design Forum
Consultancy and technical assistance for the implementation of the “European Design Forum” project. This multiannual cooperation agreement, coordinated by the Flemish Institute for Design [VIZO – today “Design Vlaanderen”]. Focused mainly on the reflection and exchange of experiences about European design issues today, this project has been granted a support by the European Commission. Design…
EUXIN – European Cross Identity Network
EUxIN [European Union Cross Identity Network] is consisted of European universities belonging to the COIMBRA GROUP. Supported by the program “Culture 2000” of the European Union. This project aims to develop and enrich the reflexion on the European cultural identity through a multidisciplinary approach and a common methodology. The objects of the project are European…
Ghana Fortresses
Assistance to the management and the implementation of an annual cooperation project aiming at the study, the documentation and the architectural survey of three fortresses on the Ghana coast (Anomabu, Butre and Axim). This project has been granted a financial support by the “Culture 2000” programme. DATES: September 2004 ► August 2005 PARTNERS: Cooperazione [IT],…
Glass is Tomorrow
This cultural project brings together contemporary designers and glass blowers, with the aim of provide new models for cooperation and creativity in glass creation today. A collection of pieces, created during the creative workshops held in Finland, Cezch Republic and France are displayed throughout Europe in a travelling exhibition, and illustrated in a comprehensive publication.…
HANPISA – Archaeological museums and “in situ” conservation
The project arises from the discovery in San Rossor, near Pisa, of ca. 30 ancient ships dating back to the 1st cent.BC – 4th cent.AD, and the opening of a new wing of the Han Yangling museum near Xi’an, displaying to the public an archaeological site with several thousands of terracotta figures. Consisting in various…
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IMMASK – Museums and Intangible Heritage. Focus on the hidden European traditions
This cooperation project deals with intangible heritage related with European masks and ethnography practices. It has been implemented by several museums in Germany, Italy and Romania active in the field of popular traditions, carnivals and masked theater. The project scheduling workshops, an exhibition and a Colloquium has been placed under the patronage of UNESCO. IMMASK…
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Industrial heritage between land and sea
Consultancy and technical assistance to the implementation of the “Patrimoine industriel entre terre et mer: pour un réseau européen d’écomusées” (Industrial heritage between land and sea: for a European network of ecomuseums), coordinated by the association “Mémoire à lire, patrimoine à l’écoute” (MALTAE – Hyères, France). With a 3-years duration, this project has been carried…
JAZ [UE/Burundi]
JAZ tackles, through theatrical creation, the issue of ill-treatment of women. The project, coordinated by théâtre VARIA in Brussels proposes the creation of an original theatrical play written by Koffi Kwahulé in a context of testimony involving victims, torturers, actors and authors, taking the floor in the name of women. DATES: July 2009 ► June…
KILDA – Island of the birdmen
Consultancy and technical assistance to the coordination and management of the multiannual cooperation project “Kilda – Island of the birdmen”, supported by the “Culture 2000” programme of the European Commission. DATES: February 2006 ► October 2007 PARTNERS: Gaelic Arts Agency (Stornoway) [UK], Valenciennes [FR], Mons [BE], Düsseldorf [DE], Hallstatt [AT] FUNDING: X XXX XXX ◄ …
La place, un patrimoine européen
Consultancy and technical assistance for the methodological, financial and logistical management of the multiannual project “La place, un patrimoine européen (The square, a European heritage)”, supported by the EC’s “Culture 2000” programme. DATES: September 2004 ► August 2007 PARTNERS: “Aristoteles” University (Thessaloniki) [GR], Unversità IUAV (Venezia) [IT], Jagellonian University (Cracow) [PL], Maison des Sciences de…
Living Heritage
Consultancy and technical assistance for the management of the European project “Living Heritage”, coordinated by the Fondation Roi Baudouin (Brussels, Belgium), supported by the European Commission. DATES: Novmber 2004 ► October 2005 PARTNERS: Bruxelles, Sarajevo, Sofia, Skopje, Bucarest FUNDING: X XXX XXX ◄ BACK TO PROJECT LIST
Musica per gli occhi
This project concerns mainly the contemporary musical creation. It aims to give new tones to some works from the silent cinema period, which are unknown or not within the reach of the global public. Through the (re)discovering of an European cinematographic heritage, young musicians and composers will have the opportunity to be initiated to the…
READ-ME – European network of diasporas associations and ethnographic museums
The activity program of this pilot project aims at promoting, through ethnographic museums and diasporas, a new relation to the “Other”, which will also inspire a societal reflection in a multicultural Europe. Within the first phase of the READ-ME project, three scientific workshops have been held in Stockholm, Paris and Rome and they resulted in…
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READ-ME II – [S]oggetti migranti – European network of diasporas associations and ethnographic museums
Within READ-ME II [S]oggetti migranti, the real-life experience of the Diaspora and the subjective value of the «migrant object» are taken into account as useful evidence for mediation and to discuss the issue of self-awareness in relation to own past and the intercultural relations of the present. Visit [S]oggetti migranti official website DATES: October 2005…
HUMAN CITIES
This project has been thought in the continuation of the colloquium «Human cities, sustainable environmental design», which took place in Brussels in May 2007. The first phase «Human cities, sustainable environmental design» emphasized the potential of the urban objects regarding “capacitation” and of “décapacitation”, implementing a reflection on the sociocultural dynamics of the sustainable design…
RIME – International Network of Ethnographic Museums
Considering the radical changes that these societies have experienced, and the migratory flux these changes have provoked, the museums must necessarily redefine their priorities. Ten European ethnography museums propose to unite their experiences to organize scientific workshops on social questions related to the perception of populations of other continents, and focusing on two major themes…
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Roofs of Europe I & II
Since 10 years, the European Center of Archaeometry of the Liège University has been working with EU institutions on the issues of preservation and safeguard of the frames and roofs of historical monuments. Experts shared their knowledge in the framework of the study of 30 churches’ roofs on the European territory. Download the “Roofs of…
Terra Incognita I & II: European conservatory of earthen architecture
Carried out with the support of the “Culture 2000” and “Culture 2007-2013” programmes, Terra Incognita I & II originates from the observation that the lack of knowledge of the construction and maintenance techniques of earthen architecture put this heritage in great danger. The aim of the project is to protect, promote and revitalize this fragile…
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Tuscia parks and gardens: A world Heritage
Consultancy and technical assistance in the implementation of the “European heritage laboratory” dedicated to the historic parks and gardens of the Viterbo area, near Rome. Leaded by the Tuscia University – consortium Genius Loci, this 12-months project has benefited from a EU support. DATES: November 2005 ► October 2006 PARTNERS: Università della Tuscia [IT], Sovrintendenza…
VerSus – Lessons from Vernacular Heritage in Sustainable Architecture
The « VerSus » project’s main objective is to gain knowledge from the fundamental lessons and principles of the vernacular architecture and to explore new ways of integrating those principles into modern sustainable building techniques. It intends to follow up the work, the contacts and the network established during the projects « Terra Incognita I…
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