Christian Ernsten (C.)
Christian Ernsten’s research is situated at the intersection of the fields of heritage studies, urban studies and African studies. He specializes in the study of the heritage practices involved conservation and design of landscapes.
He takes an interest in the broad topics of heritage and decoloniality, heritage and the circular economy, as well as heritage and artistic research.
Christian Ernsten is currently mostly engaged with the following projects:
Geul River Atelier. This project consists of a collaboration with Natuurmonumenten and is funded by the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE) and the Province of Limburg. It deals with the heritage of river valley area and it's aimed at refiguring local material culture and conservation practices in the context of the current climate crisis.
Research, Education and Action Lab into Collective and Circular Transformation (REACCT). This project consists of a collaboration with Huis Veendam and is funded by Click NL, the Topsector Fund for Creative Industry. It contributes to transforming building practices by steering away from a building heritage that had humans as end-users. REACCT proposes to articulate building cycles informed by nature as end-user. It asks: How can a community of stakeholders transform the ecological impact of building activities to a nature regenerative cycle?
- Decolonial River Walks. This project focusses on colonial heritage of rivers in the South African Cape area. It hones in on colonial ways of knowing landscapes, climate change and walking as transhistorical act. www.decolonialriverwalk.nl
