The Protection and Enhancement of Heritage – The SPHINX Project

Led by Sorbonne University and coordinated by the Heritage Observatory – OPUS, and its director Nathalie Ginoux, the SPHINX consortium is formally engaged to work on the “Preservation of Cultural Heritage.” It will do so through a project that aims to address heritage over the long term and at all scales, by creating a European center of expertise that responds to three major interdisciplinary challenges: the making of heritage, neglected or obstructed heritage, and shared heritage.

By bringing together researchers from diverse disciplines, centered on 13 scientific programs, SPHINX provides a promising framework for the emergence of new perspectives on heritage. These programs, covering a broad range of themes, will deepen our understanding of heritage and support the development of new tools to study and promote it.

The 17 SPHINX Research Programs

• Identity, commons, memory

• Artistic canons – norms and evolutions

• Constitution and preservation of scholarly heritage

• The tourist construction of heritage

• Matrimonies, underrepresented heritage

• Regulated heritage

• Augmented heritage

• Provenance, restitution, authentication

• Ethics and standards of sensitive heritage

• Threatened / made-invisible heritage

• Restoration / preservation of expertise / highlighting marginalized heritage / revitalization

• Digital heritage

• Shared heritage

Thanks to this collaborative and research-based approach, SPHINX aims to create a continuum between academics, public and private decision-makers, heritage professionals, and the general public in order to:

•     Better understand the complexity of heritage and the issues surrounding it.
•     Develop tools to assess and monitor the conservation status of cultural assets.
•     Propose preservation strategies adapted to different types of heritage.
•     Promote collaboration among the various stakeholders involved in heritage management.

By bringing researchers together around shared challenges and producing cutting-edge knowledge, SPHINX contributes to informing debates on the future of heritage and guiding the decisions that affect it. The results of this project are expected to enhance the protection and promotion of heritage for future generations.