IN-PERSON ISTANBUL HERITAGE(S)

Abstract

This paper examines how artificial intelligence (AI) can support the preservation and reinterpretation of intangible cultural heritage through digital storytelling. Focusing on The Serpent and the Princess, a collaborative project involving researchers, artists and cultural practitioners in the United Kingdom, Senegal and The Gambia, it explores how West African oral traditions can be translated into contemporary digital forms while maintaining cultural authenticity and community ownership. Drawing on UNESCO’s framework of intangible cultural heritage and critical heritage scholarship, the project investigates the use of AI-generated animation, digital art and participatory storytelling to reanimate cultural narratives and engage new audiences. Centred on a traditional story shared by storyteller and cultural ambassador Sens Sagna, the project combines oral history, performance and AI-assisted creative production to create new pathways for cultural transmission. Using a practice-based methodology, the paper analyses the opportunities and tensions associated with AI-mediated heritage production, including questions of representation, authorship and cultural ownership. It argues that AI should be understood not simply as a tool for preservation but as a means of facilitating new forms of cultural expression and collective memory. In doing so, the paper contributes to emerging debates on digital heritage, creative technologies and cultural futures.