11 Mile NearFuture Pluriversity
From 13-16 March 2026 RAAD researchers Becky Shaw and Cathy Wade took part in the 11 Mile NearFuture Pluriversity - a group of artists, researchers, educators, planners and historians working together to think about the future value of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal UNESCO World Heritage site (WHS) as a sustainable and equitable tourism and lifelong learning model.
The weekend gave space to imagine the WHS as a Pluriversity: an education- led structure to draw the value embedded in the heritage infrastructure into value for the surrounding community. The ‘Pluriversity’ is Achille Mbembe’s term to restructure the university after the end of colonialism. The weekend builds on a long-standing partnership with Claire Farrell, Shared Prosperity Fund World Heritage Site Placemaking Project Director, Canals and Rivers Trust. The partnership to date has involved Cathy’s and Claire’s work with young people on the canal system in Wrecsam, Smethwick and London. The weekend contributes directly to funding applications to support an innovative art, education, tourism and regional development model that directly relates to research within UNESCO.
The weekend built on the work of three art graduates: Annie Dale (BCU MAAEP), Isobel Evans (Wrexham University) and Sharath Mohan (Coventry University) who were previously commissioned to explore the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal site, and to act as a test bed for thinking about an expanded model of education which includes Universities, tourism, artists, environment, heritage and communities.
In addition, a range of key future ’11 Mile’ partners were brought together to share their work and respond to the site: Leo Bruno Todd, an artist exploring heritage crafts in Wales; Anneka French Writer, Editor, Curator; Dominic Davies, author of The Broken Promise of Infrastructure; Peter Wakelin, art historian, Formerly Secretary of the Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Wales and current Director of Collections & Research at the National Museum of Wales and author of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal UNESCO successful application; Ian Richards, artist and Coventry University Design academic, Jean Bonin, artist and author of ‘Surrealism in Wales; Sophie Hadaway Education Consultant, Facilitator and Artist; Owen Davies, Planning Regeneration & Local Economic Development Consultant ;and Christian Britten, film director.
During the weekend we visited key heritage sites St Fagans Museum of Wales, Blenaevon heritage museum and the surrounding hills. Underpinning the weekend workshop was the production and utilisation of a NearFutures generator game made by Becky. The card game has five suites that include: assets (images of artefacts drawn from Cefn Mawr museum), places, people, time and institutional structures. It allows players to escape from logical and known development ideas and institutional silos, to bring together artistic practice, tourism, education structures, place and resource in unexpected combinations.
The next stage of the work is working with the four communities surrounding the aqueduct looking at their intangible heritage as a basis for future developments that feed into a Heritage Lottery Fund application, a small UNESCO application, possible exchanges with other WHS, research directions and contribution to Wrexham City of Culture.