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👋🏽 welcome to
The Heritage Lab
a cultural research and multimedia storytelling project
bringing collections, humanities research, and digital cultural practices into public conversation.
The Heritage Lab is shaped by the belief that cultural knowledge held in collections, archives, and research belongs in public life - online as well.
Paying close attention to cultural histories, and telling their stories with care, remains at the heart of this project.
Alongside working with collections, the site is also a space to think aloud about museums and cultural institutions themselves, especially as more people encounter collections digitally.
It reflects an ongoing interest in how cultural heritage institutions produce, organise, and share knowledge in the digital age - through exhibitions, media, platforms, and participatory/public-facing formats.
The Heritage Lab is independently run, with contributions from invited writers and collaborators over the years.
Hello !
Hi, I’m Medhavi, the creator and editor of The Heritage Lab.
I started this project because I was fascinated by the collections, exhibitions, and ideas held inside museums, libraries, & archives and a growing frustration with how difficult they often are to access beyond those spaces. It began as a desire to make these stories, and the larger questions they raise, visible online for students, curious readers, and the wider public.
Many of the early pieces on The Heritage Lab grew out of school and curriculum-based connections, shaped by practices of 'creative inquiry'.
At the same time, the existing online narrative about South Asian history and culture felt narrow and distant. So this project became an attempt to widen that frame and make room for 'fresh' (and multiple) perspectives, and ways of seeing shaped by decolonial thinking.
I've often been asked Why a "Lab"?
The Heritage Lab functions as a kind of working notebook. It is a place where I follow collections across institutions and geographies, think through how these move and reappear in different contexts, and experiment with formats (essays, visual stories, audio features, online exhibitions, and participatory projects) that bring cultural material into public view.
Beyond the site
Alongside publishing, I also work with museums, archives, and cultural non-profits on editorial platforms, digital storytelling, and other public-facing projects as well as advocacy for open knowledge. Some of that work happens here / is featured on this site; some of it lives elsewhere. What ties it together is an interest in how cultural knowledge is shared, who it reaches, and what becomes possible when it is made visible online. From time to time, I share notes on this site, and occasionally on LinkedIn.
Staying updated
As of 2025, newsletters are on pause. While I am grateful for the 3500+ subscribers, newsletter tools are expensive and I’ve chosen to keep this project lightweight and sustainable. Of course, in the future, there may be experiments.
Whether you arrive here as a reader, researcher, student, or collaborator, you’re warmly invited to follow along via the RSS feed! And to those who’ve been here for a while: thank you for being here, for reading closely, and for staying curious.
I started this project because I was fascinated by the collections, exhibitions, and ideas held inside museums, libraries, & archives and a growing frustration with how difficult they often are to access beyond those spaces. It began as a desire to make these stories, and the larger questions they raise, visible online for students, curious readers, and the wider public.
Many of the early pieces on The Heritage Lab grew out of school and curriculum-based connections, shaped by practices of 'creative inquiry'.
At the same time, the existing online narrative about South Asian history and culture felt narrow and distant. So this project became an attempt to widen that frame and make room for 'fresh' (and multiple) perspectives, and ways of seeing shaped by decolonial thinking.
I've often been asked Why a "Lab"?
The Heritage Lab functions as a kind of working notebook. It is a place where I follow collections across institutions and geographies, think through how these move and reappear in different contexts, and experiment with formats (essays, visual stories, audio features, online exhibitions, and participatory projects) that bring cultural material into public view.
Beyond the site
Alongside publishing, I also work with museums, archives, and cultural non-profits on editorial platforms, digital storytelling, and other public-facing projects as well as advocacy for open knowledge. Some of that work happens here / is featured on this site; some of it lives elsewhere. What ties it together is an interest in how cultural knowledge is shared, who it reaches, and what becomes possible when it is made visible online. From time to time, I share notes on this site, and occasionally on LinkedIn.
Staying updated
As of 2025, newsletters are on pause. While I am grateful for the 3500+ subscribers, newsletter tools are expensive and I’ve chosen to keep this project lightweight and sustainable. Of course, in the future, there may be experiments.
Whether you arrive here as a reader, researcher, student, or collaborator, you’re warmly invited to follow along via the RSS feed! And to those who’ve been here for a while: thank you for being here, for reading closely, and for staying curious.
Our Readers
- As of June 2025, we reach 95,000+ unique readers a month!
- Trusted by Experts: Researchers, universities, and thought leaders in the fields of history, art, and culture regularly reference and cite our content, making us a key resource for scholarly and creative endeavors.
- Our readership spans some of the most culturally engaged regions worldwide, reflecting the universal appeal of heritage and storytelling. Top countries – India, US, Germany, Singapore, UK, Canada
Collaborators include:
- museums, libraries, universities and collectives — to develop engaging digital stories and resources.
- cultural institutions — to connect with digital audiences through custom projects
- schools and universities — to implement creative inquiry projects in the classroom
- biennale organizers
- book publishers
Our Work with Cultural & Academic Institutions
Reach & Engagement
We work with institutions to:
✅ Showcase collections & research in engaging, accessible formats
✅ Develop interactive content to enhance audience participation
✅ Amplify exhibitions & other programs (e.g fellowships) through digital storytelling
Community Building
We create spaces for public participation in culture through:
✅ Editathons & photowalks – Enriching digital archives with volunteer participation
✅ Limited Edition Newsletters, Learning based engagement groups and so on
✅ Social Media Campaigns & Educator Hackathons – Making culture shareable
✅ Digital fellowships – Supporting research & creative projects
Research & Insights
We help institutions understand digital audiences & enhance engagement strategies through:
✅ Audience behavior research – Learn what works for digital visitors
✅ Analysis of digital trends & tools – Stay updated in a changing landscape!
✅ Workshops and Custom consulting - knowledge transfers toolkits, internal capacity building, engagement strategies tailored to your goals, and so on.