Co-Producing Collections: Re-imagining a Polyvocal Past with Cultural Probes

Abstract

In this article, we describe findings and methodological implications from a research through design (RtD) process conducted as part of larger research project in Istanbul, Turkey. The project aimed to identify and valorise alternative heritage narratives from communities around Istanbul concerning a UNESCO heritage site, The Theodosian Land Walls. Following a large-scale ethnographic phase, we produced and deployed ‘cultural probes’: sets of creative, speculative tasks given to participants in ethnographically-oriented design processes. Our probes were intended to gather rich personal data from participant interviews and to inform the design space of a mobile, locative media installation. The process of this research, however, revealed another use for probes in informing and organising co-production activities around heritage sites. We identify implications for this proposed use for heritage practice with collections exploring the potential of probes to support new kinds of participant engagement.