Burra Charter 40th celebrations 2019

In 2019, the Burra Charter turned 40! As part of our acknowledgement of this significant landmark, Australia ICOMOS hosted panel discussions and other events to celebrate and reflect on the document’s success and evolution, and to consider its capacity to respond to an evolving heritage landscape – does the Burra Charter address all of the issues relevant to contemporary heritage practice?

Click on the links below for more information on the events held.

For context, the history of Australia ICOMOS and the evolution of the Burra Charter can be read in the Collaboration for Conservation – A brief history of Australia ICOMOS and the Burra Charter booklet, which can be downloaded from here.

 

The Burra Charter turns 40 – Melbourne Discussion panel, 27 June

The Burra Charter turns 40 – Discussion panel series

As you will all know, the Burra Charter turns 40 in 2019, and as part of our acknowledgement of this significant landmark, Australia ICOMOS is hosting a series of panel discussions to celebrate and reflect on the document’s success and evolution, and to consider its capacity to respond to an evolving heritage landscape. Does the Burra Charter address all of the issues relevant to contemporary heritage practice? Is there, for example, a need for the Charter to respond more directly to intangible heritage? How can the Charter be adopted more completely in all areas of heritage practice? Is there a risk that the essence of the Charter will be diluted through further reviews?

The first of the discussion panels will take place at the University of Melbourne on 27 June 2019 (details below). The format, based on the ABC’s ‘Q and A’ show, will see a panel of four speakers respond to questions from the audience, with the discussion chaired by a moderator. Details about the panel members will be provided in the coming weeks.

The ‘Q & A’ will run for approximately an hour and a half and will be streamed live. The event is open to all.

Date & Time: 5:45pm (for 6:00pm), Thursday 27 June 2019
Location: Singapore Theatre, Room B120, Glyn Davis Building (133), Masson Road, The University of Melbourne

The audio from this event has been recorded (total time 1 hr 15 mins) and is now available to listen to (see below) and via the Australia ICOMOS Facebook page.

Australia ICOMOS extends its thanks to Professor Philip Goad and the panelists, Helen Lardner, Meg Goulding, Dr James Lesh, Emeritus Prof Miles Lewis and also to the University of Melbourne for hosting the event and providing the recording.

 

The Burra Charter turns 40 – Sydney Panel Discussion, 13 July, Uni of Sydney

Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter Panel Discussion
11.00am to 1.00pm, 13 July
University of Sydney

The Burra Charter is the bedrock for heritage practice in Australia. It sets out principles and procedures that have been applied throughout the country and overseas, since it was written in 1979. To acknowledge the Charter’s 40th anniversary, Australia ICOMOS is hosting a series of panel discussions to reflect on the document’s success and evolution, and to consider its capacity to respond to changing cultural assumptions, environmental conditions and professional practices. Questions to be posed as part the discussion may include, how does the Burra Charter work in practice, and how rigorously is it applied? Does it address all of the issues relevant to contemporary heritage and conservation practice? Is there a need for the Charter to respond more directly to intangible heritage? Is there a risk the Charter will be diluted through further reviews?

The second of these panel discussions will take place at the University of Sydney on Saturday 13 July 2019. It will form a discrete session within the conference Distance Looks Back, a joint meeting of the European Architectural History Network (EAHN) and the Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ). Conference delegates will be entitled to attend the panel discussion, but it is also possible to register for the panel discussion as a standalone event. Ticket holders for this event will also be entitled to attend other Saturday morning sessions of the conference (see conference sessions here).

 

The Past, Present and Future of the Burra Charter, 22 August, Brisbane

Australia ICOMOS is thrilled to announce our next Queensland event: The Past, Present and Future of the Burra Charter – a 40th Anniversary Celebration, on 22 August 2019, from 6.45 to 8.15pm, at the Oral Health Centre at University of Queensland’s Herston campus.

When describing the Burra Charter, former ICOMOS Secretary General referred to the document as Australia ICOMOS’ “great gift (even if unintended) to the world.” Now 40 years old, Australia ICOMOS’ Burra Charter remains a seminal conservation document – influencing national and international standards and conservation processes throughout the world.

Our Q&A panel brings together experts involved in creating The Illustrated Burra Charter, in revising and adapting the charter and those who use (or not) the Burra Charter in everyday practice. They will explore the origins of the document and discuss how it has evolved to meet our changing perception of heritage and the new challenges the document faces as it moves into its 5th decade.

Host                   

  • Dr Jane Lennon, AM

Moderator 

  • Rhianna Patrick, ABC Radio

Panel Members

  • Meredith Walker AM – Honorary Life Member Australia ICOMOS, author The Illustrated Burra Charter
  • Dr Ian Lilley – Professor Emeritus in the UQ School of Social Science and Willem Willems Chair in Archaeological Heritage Management at Universiteit Leiden (Netherlands)
  • John Schiavo – Acting Director Cultural Heritage, Department of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Partnerships
  • Dr Andrew Sneddon – Associate Director, Extent Heritage

 

Burra Charter @ 40 – Burra and the future, 30 August, Burra, South Australia

Join us at 5.30pm on Friday 30 August for a wine and cheese ‘Q & A’ style event to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter and to debate the future management of Burra’s heritage appeal and its future direction as a National Heritage Place. All are welcome to join the debate!

A selection of UniSA’s Master of Architecture student projects focusing on a hypothetical ‘interpretation and innovation centre’ in Hampton Village will also be on display.

The Burra Charter @ 40 event will provide an opportunity to consider a range of issues including:

  • The origins of the Burra Charter, its purpose and impact in Australia and beyond
  • What a ‘Burra Charter’ approach means in Burra for heritage owners today; its role in repair, adaptive reuse and tourism opportunities; and its ability to respond to emerging challenges in heritage practice

The format of the evening will be based on the ABC’s ‘Q&A’ show. Keith Conlon, Chair of the South Australian Heritage Council, will moderate the panel discussion and the audience will be invited to pose questions to the panel before the event and also on the night. Please submit audience questions to Michael Queale by email by COB Wednesday 28 August 2019.

Dr Jane Lennon, AM, Australia ICOMOS Honorary member, who was involved in the initial Burra Charter in 1979, has generously offered to join us on the night and will reflect on the momentous day and the aspirations of the ICOMOS Committee at the time.

More information is available in the BC 40th year event August 2019_SA flyer.

 

Tasmanian Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Burra Charter, Tuesday 8 October 2019

Tasmanian Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter
Tuesday 8 October 2019, 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Hadleys Orient Hotel, 34 Murray Street, Hobart

In Tasmania, Australia ICOMOS is celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Burra Charter with a reception at the historic Hadleys Orient Hotel in Hobart on Tuesday 8 October 2019, from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. We invite you to come and be part of this cultural heritage celebration.

The reception will also feature a small panel of heritage practitioners who are experts in different areas of cultural heritage and who will share their reflections and thoughts on their experience working with the Burra Charter, its usefulness, and how they think the Burra Charter might usefully evolve in the future. This will be followed by audience questions and comment.

Speakers include:

  • Dr Jane Harrington – Director, Conservation & Infrastructure, Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority and currently a member of the Australian Heritage Council
  • Brendan Lennard – a heritage architect with long-term experience in the field, including initially with the National Trust in NSW, but mainly with local government in Tasmania
  • Lesley Gulson – a landscape architect with an interest in heritage
  • David Parham – an archaeologist with an interest in planning at the local government level

Professor Kate Darian-Smith, a cultural historian and Executive Dean and Pro Vice-Chancellor, College of Arts, Law & Education at the University of Tasmania, will be MC for the event.

This was an Australia ICOMOS event. Australia ICOMOS however acknowledges the support of Hadleys Orient Hotel for this event.

 

Burra Charter 40th Anniversary celebration, Canberra, 15 November

In the 40th anniversary year of the Burra Charter and in conjunction with its national conference on the theme of Heritage of the Air, Australia ICOMOS is pleased to host a celebratory event to mark this occasion.

A highlight of this reception, with drinks and nibbles, will be a presentation on Australia’s latest World Heritage property – Budj Bim in western Victoria, which was inscribed in July 2019. Australia ICOMOS is delighted that Denis Rose, Land Manager at the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Corporation, has agreed to speak about the World Heritage journey for this remarkable Indigenous heritage place.

Time & date: 6.15 – 8.00 pm, Friday 15 November 2019
Location: Shine Dome (National Heritage listed), 15 Gordon Street, Acton, ACT

Download the BurraCharter-40th AnniversaryCelebration-15Nov flyer.

 


Supported by the Getty Conservation Institute