Baghdad’s cultural heritage is unique in Iraq. Its millennia-old cultural heritage, especially since the 1990s, has, however, faced extreme neglect and the consequences of conflict. A growing, mostly youth-based interest in Baghdad’s heritage, evidenced by growing local tourism, has shown a real promise of growing community and societal interest in the history of the city. Baghdadi Cultural centre (BCC) located in what was originally the Abbasid-era School of Prince Saadeh, later converted by the Ottomans, situated in the heart of old Baghdad, the historic core of the city, has suffered decades of damage and neglect. The building was restored in 2011, turned into the BCC, and opened up to various unions and literary associations to hold artistic and cultural events.  In recent years, life has returned with the conservation and redevelopment of the famous al-Mutanabi Street and al-Qishla Ottoman barracks amongst others, making the area a site of commercial and social activity particularly at weekends. The BCC, currently only open on Fridays, likewise has become a popular destination, regularly attracting thousands of visitors to its museums, libraries, children’s centre, café and other facilities, and to its events. Annually it holds hundreds of events and the average number of visitors every Friday is c.3,000. The BCC is the largest cultural centre in Iraq, with a huge diversity of events and amenities. It is evident that greater opening hours would easily be viable but, like much of old Baghdad, the historic building in which it is located needs conservation and all of its attractions and facilities need upgrading, its displays improved and modernised, and its reach broadened.

 

The wider area in and around al Mutanabi Street is scheduled for further government investment, and nearby heritage buildings are due to be conserved and developed starting in the next year or so, so this is a uniquely key time to research and develop the BCC’s visitor engagement with the aim of developing the centre along with its museum and libraries into a world-class heritage centre appealing not just to Baghdadis but also to other Iraqi and international visitors to the city.

 

The project, instigated and led by the BCC under the directorship of Mr Talib Issa, partnered with Dr. Maitham AlHarbi and Amal Ibrahim from Peta Services,  will focus on the visitor engagement with the three elements of the BCC: visitor engagement, its Historic Archive, Interactive Hall, Heritage workspace and engaging activities and website. The focus of this research is to better understand visitor engagement in the center, a first step in not only increasing the center's own capacity for visitors but also to offer support to and engagement with other nearby cultural institutions. This project will use a mixed methods approach, combining, for instance, interviews and focus groups, visitor surveys and observation, and archival and historical research. The aim is to develop better understanding of the visitors in a context of growing interest in and engagement with historic Baghdad in order to produce outputs that will help the center to be more active and dynamic in its appeal and service to its visitors.