DEVELOPING COMMUNITY-BASED GRAY SCULPTURE EDUCATION: A PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH APPROACH TO CULTURAL HERITAGE PRESERVATION

Zhang Rufang; Jantana Khochprasert; Poradee Panthupakorn; Chusak Suvimolstien

Authors

Zhang Rufang Burapha University
Jantana Khochprasert Burapha University
Poradee Panthupakorn Burapha University
Chusak Suvimolstien Burapha University

Keywords:

Cultural Heritage, Sculpture, Architecture

Abstract

This study focused on the interactive relationship between the living inheritance of Cantonese Gray Sculpture (Hui Su) and community cultural development, conducted by the participatory action research (PAR) approach, and was conducted in the Longtou community, Huadu District, Guangzhou. Following three iterative cycles of planning–action–observation–reflection. The program collaborated with community residents, intangible cultural heritage inheritors, community workers, and researchers to continuously develop and optimize a community education curriculum on gray sculpture. The resulting curriculum was structured around a four-dimensional framework: cultural understanding - skill training – innovative application and community dissemination.

The findings revealed that the curriculum enhanced residents’ cultural understanding of gray sculpture, improved their skills, and strengthened their cultural identity. At the same time, it promoted more frequent cultural activities in the community, interaction with nearby communities, and fostered a collaborative cultural heritage network among residents, inheritors, and the community. This study confirms that a PAR-based gray sculpture community education curriculum can activate residents’ cultural subjectivity and achieve mutual empowerment between the living inheritance of intangible cultural heritage and the accumulation of community cultural capital.

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