The Willesden Jewish Cemetery’s House of Life heritage experience has been shortlisted for a heritage award presented by the Association for Heritage Interpretation (AHI), a professional network for heritage interpreters. It’s up for the “Untold Stories” award category of the AHI’s 2021 Engaging People Awards, a biennial prize for projects in the UK and Ireland.
House of Life is a visitor experience located on the grounds and in the funerary buildings at Willesden Jewish Cemetery. United Synagogue, which owns and operates the cemetery (which is still used for burials), is nominated for the “delivery of permanent interpretation and public programming” in the House of Life experience.
Launched in September 2020, the House of Life project opened the cemetery to the public as a multifaceted place of public heritage: an example of how Jewish cemeteries can be integrated into tourism while respecting the sanctity of the place.
If offers guided tours, lectures, an exhibit in a new visitors’ center, and other public programming.
It respects its sanctity as a burial site but enables visitors to explore Jewish history and heritage, as well as learn about the lives of the many Jewish personalities buried there and engage with issues related to death, funeral traditions, and funerary art.
The Untold Stories award category recognizes projects “telling the story of groups, communities or events that have been overlooked or excluded in the past […] shining a light on untold, unheard or under-represented aspects of our history [and] working with groups whose voices are not often heard at heritage and cultural sites.
The other nominees in the category are the British Museum for its “Desire, love, identity: an LGBTQ tour,” the Museum of London for “Dub London: Bassline of a City,” and We Are IVE Ltd. for “Represent.”
“House of Life has generated wonderful opportunities to inspire visitors and local communities to explore an unusual site and discover more,” Caroline Marcus, Chair of Group for Education in Museums, said in a press statement.
Volunteers are actively involved in gardening projects, research and leading tours enhancing wellbeing, raising the profile of the cemetery as a place to unlock fascinating stories and to inspire reflection – the House of Life project has transformed this cemetery and the team are now aiming to build sustainable community partnerships.”
The winners of all categories will be announced on November 17 and 18, 2021.
See the Cemetery and House of Life web site