In AlUla, heritage is woven into everyday life, not only through major archaeological landmarks, but also through the smaller, often overlooked spaces that have shaped how communities move, meet and connect over time.
As part of a wider cultural exchange supported through the AlUla grant programme, Sustainable Conservation Trust developed a project that explores how these everyday spaces can be re-engaged through creativity, research and community participation. The grant was delivered by the British Council in partnership with the Royal Commission for AlUla.
Focusing on historic alleyways and transitional urban spaces, the work invited a closer look at places that are often passed through rather than paused within. These spaces, shaped by memory, movement and daily routines, became starting points for dialogue around heritage, identity and belonging.
At the heart of this work is a focus on listening to place. Rather than imposing new narratives, the project began by observing how spaces have been used, remembered and valued over time. Alleyways, courtyards and transitional spaces, often passed through without notice, became starting points for storytelling, learning and shared reflection.
Central to the approach was working with local communities to understand how these spaces have been experienced across generations. Through walks, discussions and creative engagement, the project created opportunities to surface personal stories and local knowledge, placing lived experience at the heart of heritage interpretation.
Rather than treating conservation as a purely technical process, the initiative framed heritage as something active and evolving. Creativity played a key role, not as decoration, but as a way to listen, reflect and respond to place. By encouraging people to engage with familiar environments in new ways, the work opened up conversations about how heritage can remain relevant to contemporary life.
This approach also reflects a broader understanding of sustainability, one that recognises social and cultural continuity alongside physical conservation. Supporting locally grounded creative practice helps ensure that heritage remains meaningful, cared for and connected to the communities it belongs to.
Through initiatives like this, AlUla continues to demonstrate how international collaboration, when rooted in local context, can support thoughtful and inclusive cultural development. By bringing together conservation, creativity and community voices, the project offers a model for how everyday heritage can be reimagined, not as something fixed in the past, but as part of a shared and living future.
