Lost Worlds? : Heritage in a Cultural Economy

Discussions of the cultural economy often focus upon the movement of such things as signs, media images, fashion and their entanglement in economic processes, but less attention has been paid to the concrete ways in which cultural heritage is affected by the processes and conditions of commoditization. This paper focuses upon how two museums of Scandinavian heritage struggle with very different cultural and economic parameters under which they operate. One, a museum of Scandinavian immigration in the US, is faced with the challenges of relocation and mobility and making choices how to curate its collection for new transatlantic migrants as well as those who migrated long ago. The other museum, a baroque style Swedish castle, is anchored in a cultural landscape dating back to the 17th century, unable to move and lacking the resources to fully open its doors to the public.
As both museums struggle to establish themselves as heritage destinations and vital participants of their respective communities, they face serious questions regarding heritage preservation, which this paper highlights. How do economic sensibilities effect the role of selection as these museums struggle with the conditions of their past and plans for the future. How do processes of emplacement effect curatorial decisions concerning accession, de-accessioning, and exhibiting? What is the role of tangible heritage when heritage is becoming increasingly digitized, and finally, for whom do they collect and in the process limit or enable the development of senses of community?