Heritage-making, borderwork and (multi) cultural organisations in the north of England

This chapter is based on recent AHRC-UK research into the ways that Black and minority ethnic organisations in the North of England engage with their heritage through their own cultural organisations. This heritage-making is analysed as ‘borderwork’ located outside of mainstream cultural organisations: as ‘boundary-making’ and/or as ‘contact zone’. The chapter offers critical insights into heritage work as an affective process by minoritized people who use the past or traditions to express creatively their place within the world, and strategically assert their voices in the public sphere. It concludes with reflections on the research process among motivated participants, and the impact and potential of ‘collected’ heritage shared in networked relationships.