Name

PARCUM, museum and centre of expertise on religious art and culture

Short description

PARCUM is a Flemish Government recognised museum and centre of expertise for religious art and culture. We work on tangible and intangible heritage of religious communities such as convents and abbeys or churches. 

Contact details

[email protected]

Field(s)

Intangible heritage

Description

The project aims to document and safeguard the intangible heritage values of silence in monasteries and abbeys. Special attention is given to monastic sign language as a tangible way to experience silence. 

Additionally, we aim to connect this to mental well-being and the contemporary need for silence in society. At the same time, silence can lead to exclusion, as those who are deaf or hard of hearing often struggle to be inclusively involved in a group or community. Monastic sign language forms the foundation of modern sign language. 

Therefore, we aim to involve deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in the project. The intangible heritage of silence in a monastic context thus serves as a lever for both mental well-being and the inclusion of the deaf and hard of hearing

Countries

Eastern Europe, France, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Scandinavian Region (not Belgium or Spain, we already the organizations over there)

Profile

Heritage organizations working with monasteries