Caitlin DeSilvey
Co-Investigator

Caitlin DeSilvey is Associate Professor of Cultural Geography at the University of Exeter, and Associate Director of the Environment and Sustainability Institute at Exeter’s campus in Penryn, Cornwall. Her research explores the cultural significance of material change and transformation, and she has worked with artists, archaeologists, environmental scientists and heritage practitioners on a range of interdisciplinary projects. Her monograph, Curated Decay: Heritage Beyond Saving (UMP 2017), received the 2018 UMW Historic Preservation Book Prize. Caitlin was a Co-Investigator and led the Transformation theme of the Heritage Futures research programme.
Rodney Harrison, Caitlin DeSilvey, Cornelius Holtorf, Sharon Macdonald, Nadia Bartolini, Esther Breithoff, Harald Fredheim, Antony Lyons, Sarah May, Jennie Morgan, and Sefryn Penrose. 2020. Heritage Futures Comparative Approaches to Natural and Cultural Heritage Practices. UCL Press.
28/07/2020
Rodney Harrison
Cornelius Holtorf
Sharon Macdonald
Caitlin DeSilvey
Nadia Bartolini and Caitlin DeSilvey. 2020. Making space for hybridity: Industrial heritage naturecultures at West Carclaze Garden Village, Cornwall. Geofurm 113, July 2020: 39-49
10/04/2020
Caitlin DeSilvey and Rodney Harrison. 2019. Anticipating loss: rethinking endangerment in heritage futures. International Journal of Heritage Studies 26 Special Issue
09/01/2020

Transforming Loss: Knowledge Exchange at Orford
Uncertainty
Transformation
Profusion
Diversity
Natural Heritage Management
Built Heritage Management
Museums
Biodiversity
Nadia Bartolini and Caitlin DeSilvey. 2019. Recording Loss: film as method and the spirit of Orford Ness. International Journal of Heritage Studies.
Read the article here
Heritage Futures at Historic Scotland 'Conservation Ethics and Approaches' event.
12/12/2018 — 12/12/2018
Caitlin DeSilvey delivered a keynote, with Jennie Morgan providing an invited response at Historic Scotland ‘Conservation Ethics and Approaches’ event on 12 December.
Heritage Futures Exhibition: Manchester Museum
14/12/2018 — 30/11/2020
Rodney Harrison
Cornelius Holtorf
Sharon Macdonald
Caitlin DeSilvey
Sefryn Penrose
Sarah May
Jennie Morgan
Nadia Bartolini
Esther Breithoff
Harald Fredheim
Antony Lyons
Anders Högberg
Kyle Lee Crossett
Robyn Raxworthy
Gustavo Araoz
Tim Badman
Francesco Bandarin
Saida Engstrom
Loyd Grossman
John Orna-Ornstein
Ingrid Samuel
Caitlin DeSilvey and Nadia Bartolini. 2018. Where horses run free? Autonomy, temporality, and rewilding in the Côa Valley, Portugal. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 2018: 1-16.
11/06/2018
Curated Decay: Arts of Losing, Noticing, Listening
02/06/2018 — 02/06/2018
Talk by Caitlin DeSilvey for Tuned City Messene
How might a focus on material process and persistence, rather than preservation and permanence, reorient heritage practice? What new relationships with the past (and the future) emerge from intentional accommodation of transience and decay? When change is inevitable, can we move past discussion of loss and ‘letting go’ to think instead about metamorphosis and ‘letting be’?
Heritage Futures at Future Fest
06/07/2018 — 07/07/2018
6-7 July 2018
In partnership with the AHRC Heritage Priority Area, we have been invited to programme two panels across two days for this year’s FutureFest, Europe’s largest Festival of the Future. Join us, along with project partners and friends of the project, for “Frozen Futures” on Friday and “Curated Decay” on Saturday.
Call for Papers: Unsustainable heritage?
30/11/2017
If you are interested in participating in this session at ACHS2018 please contact Rodney Harrison r.harrison@ucl.ac.uk with a title and abstract in the first instance. Please note that abstracts and paper titles must be sent to conference organisers at 2018achs@zju.edu.cn with cc to r.harrison@ucl.ac.uk by 30th November 2017.
Curated Decay: Heritage Beyond Saving
22/06/2017
Hosted by UCL, a panel discussion of Caitlin DeSilvey’s new book, Curated Decay, with guest speakers Professor David Lowenthal, Dr Haidy Geismar and Professor Rodney Harrison.
The book has been featured and debated through various media outlets, with articles in The Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian, The Eastern Daily Press, and Cornwall Live – to name a few. DeSilvey was also interviewed on BBC Radio Cornwall, and BBC Radio Solent.
Rodney Harrison et al. 2016. Heritage Futures. Archaeology International 19: 68–72.
12/12/2016
Rodney Harrison
Cornelius Holtorf
Sharon Macdonald
Caitlin DeSilvey
Sefryn Penrose
Sarah May
Jennie Morgan
Nadia Bartolini
Antony Lyons
Afterlives Salon
02/03/2017
This salon to accompany the current Octagon exhibition Cabinets of Consequence will explore how heritage and other related forms of conservation practices (including nuclear waste management) make futures. How do we use material culture to stitch futures from pasts? What do we conserve? What do we get rid of? What do we allow to change? This Salon will be staged as a series of conversations across various themes currently being explored within the Heritage Futures research programme,Event held at Haldane Room, Wilkins Building , Gower Street WC1
Rodney Harrison
Cornelius Holtorf
Caitlin DeSilvey
Sefryn Penrose
Sarah May
Jennie Morgan
Nadia Bartolini
Antony Lyons
Kyle Lee Crossett
Uncertainty
Transformation
Profusion
Diversity
Nuclear Waste Management
Deep Space Messaging
World Heritage Site Management
Natural Heritage Management
Built Heritage Management
Homes
Museums
Biodiversity
Cultural Diversity
Heritage Futures
04/09/2016
IUCN World Conservation Congress, Hawaii
Rodney Harrison
Cornelius Holtorf
Sharon Macdonald
Caitlin DeSilvey
Sefryn Penrose
Sarah May
Jennie Morgan
Nadia Bartolini
Antony Lyons
Knowledge Exchange Workshop, Stockholm and Forsmark
08/03/2016 — 11/03/2016
Rodney Harrison
Cornelius Holtorf
Sharon Macdonald
Caitlin DeSilvey
Sefryn Penrose
Sarah May
Jennie Morgan
Nadia Bartolini
Antony Lyons
Anders Högberg
Kyle Lee Crossett
Robyn Raxworthy