Post Office Cultures
AHRC project title: Delivering Heritage: a creative scanning approach to investigating post offices in UK/India (aka Post Office Cultures).
The Post Office Cultures Project is an AHRC-funded initiative (Grant Ref: AH/Z507064/1) bringing together researchers, artists, communities, and cultural partners in the UK and India to explore how 3D laser scanning technologies can help us navigate and reimagine the past, present, and future of post office buildings.
About the Project
By combining creative scanning technologies, storytelling, and community co-creation, the project seeks to document, conserve, and reanimate the rich histories and future possibilities of these buildings.
Our interdisciplinary team of architects, designers, artists, and cultural practitioners works across architectural heritage, education, cultural development, and heritage tourism, fostering international collaboration and creative exchange.
Three Key Areas of Focus:
| Creative Scanning and Cultural Heritage | Histories of Migration and Exchange |
Community Engagement and Co-Creation |
|---|---|---|
| Investigating the use of 3D scanning within the creative industries to document, archive, and reinterpret heritage spaces. This research contributes to innovative practices in digital heritage, conservation and art and design futures. | Exploring how postal communication networks have connected people, cultures, and histories across India and the UK, shaping narratives of migration, exchange, and belonging. | Working with communities in Kirklees (UK) and India through skills sharing, storytelling, citizen scanning, oral history and creative media. Together, we collect memories and stories of post offices, through podcasts, sonic postcards, and artistic interpretations, to tell stories of place and lived experience. |
Case Study Sites
- Huddersfield Delivery Office
- Dewsbury Post Office
- Bradford Arts Centre
- Shimla GPO (General Post Office)
Each site provides a unique context for exploring conservation, restoration, and repurposing, linking local memory with global heritage narratives.
Dewsbury Post Office (Old Wakefield Road)
Dewsbury Post Office (Old Wakefield Road)
Huddersfield Delivery Office
Inside Huddersfield Delivery Office
Collaborating Artists and Contributors
Our work is enriched through collaboration with a range of artists, musicians, writers, students, educators and community contributors, including: Ruby Jones, Supriya Nagarajan, Duncan Chapman, Hardeep Sahota, Kevin Boniface, Mike Mawson and the volunteers at Dewsbury Arcade, Qaisar Mahmood and Radio Sangam, Amer Sarai, Mary Dowson and BCB Radio, Rangoli Radio, Greenhead College A-Level students (Enrichment Programme). These collaborations reflect the project’s commitment to co-creative practice, skills sharing, and intergenerational learning.
Guest Speaker Series
We are also hosting a Guest Speaker Series, bringing together voices from across the arts, architecture, heritage, and cultural industries. Visit our Eventbrite to explore talks, recordings, and upcoming events featuring our creative collaborators.
Exhibitions and Cultural Exchange
The project will culminate in a touring exhibition across the UK and India, presenting the creative outcomes of scanning, storytelling, and community collaboration. Research findings and artworks will be shared through international conferences.
Our Official Partners
We are proud to collaborate with:
- INTACH (India)
- Postal Museum, London
- Bagshaw Museum, Kirklees
- Radio Sangam
- University of Huddersfield
- World University of Design (India)
Meet the Project Team
Professor Rowan Bailey, Professor Nic Clear, Professor Shaleen Sharma, Professor Sanjay Gupta, Dr Xiaolu Wang, Dr Rajat Verma, and Arzoo Kadian.
Keep In Touch
Contact us on: postofficecultures@hud.ac.uk
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