Engaging communities through heritage: Reimagining visitor centres and museums

Jointly organised by UNESCO and the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), the exhibition ‘Deep Surfaces. Architecture to enhance the visitor experience of UNESCO sites' showcased how visitor centres and similar facilities operate at the intersection of cultural and natural heritage, communities, and local territories. As a Collateral Event of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, this pioneering exhibition was the first global event dedicated to visitor centres at UNESCO sites, attracting over 22,000 visitors during its run from 10 May to 23 November 2025.​

Visitor centres are rapidly evolving. No longer mere points of reception, they are emerging as active civic platforms bringing communities into meaningful dialogue with their own heritage. With this expanded role comes new strategic discussion around their conceptualisation, governance, and sustainability.​

On 12 November 2025, the exhibition’s final conference in Rome, Italy, provided a timely opportunity to reflect on its lasting impact within the landscape of heritage interpretation. Hosted during the 8th edition of RO.ME - International Fair on Museums and Cultural Destinations, the gathering offered a space to consider how the insights of ‘Deep Surfaces’ can continue shaping future practice beyond the exhibition’s closure.

The concluding discussions highlighted the urgent need to understand how visitor centres and museums can better serve as mediators between heritage, communities, and territories, and which priorities should guide their future development.​

Site managers, museum professionals, local authorities, representatives of visitor centres at UNESCO designated sites, and the public, shared a common vision: for visitor centres and museums to grow into civic laboratories - places that honour diversity and weave together living heritage and scientific knowledge.

Silvia Barbone, Vice President for Strategic Partnerships at RCU, observed how the exhibition has set the stage for deeper collaboration with UNESCO, noting that its exposure “establishes a new platform to elevate visitor centres within a new space for the communities”.

Conference outcomes captured a rich spectrum of contributions from the participants, highlighting notable achievements ranging from workshops, regular events, and educational programmes to the growing emphasis on human-centred interpretation and the increasing use of interactive elements in visitor centres.​

These reflections helped outline a clear set of priorities aimed at addressing the needs of local communities. By translating the collective intelligence gathered throughout the exhibition into a forward-looking roadmap, participants underscored a powerful message: as stewards of our heritage, we must ensure that visitor centres across UNESCO designated sites remain impactful both locally and globally.​

Looking ahead, the digital catalogue of the exhibition is about to be published. Magdalena Landry, Director of the UNESCO Office in Venice, noted, “The catalogue will extend the impact of ‘Deep Surfaces’, offering a lasting appreciation and preservation of the work from all participating visitor centres”.​

Together, the conference and forthcoming publication ensure that the initiative leaves a meaningful legacy, one that strengthens the collaborative efforts to interpret and safeguard our heritage, while transforming our knowledge and understanding of how visitor centres can enhance UNESCO sites as inclusive learning environments.

Deep Surfaces exhibition: Connecting people, heritage and place