Visualising Resilience: Aesthetic Narratives and Community-Driven Conservation of Jami Mosque of Mentok, Indonesia

Abstract

Future resilience in heritage‑rich urban environments requires approaches that integrate cultural continuity, community agency, and adaptive design thinking. Situated within the Global South, where colonial legacies, rapid urban change, and community‑led heritage practices intersect, this study critically examines how aesthetic narratives can catalyze participatory heritage conservation. The focus is the Jami Mosque of Mentok—a religious and cultural landmark in West Bangka Regency—positioned within the 2025–2029 Cultural Advancement Strategy (CAS). This study not only reconstructs the heritage narratives of the Jami Mosque of Mentok but also critically situates them within a comparative framework of Western heritage theories and Global South praxis, highlighting the tensions and adaptations that emerge. Historically and architecturally significant, the mosque also functions as a living space for the spiritual and social life of the local Malay community, embodying a cultural sign that articulates the semiotics of tawḥīd (Islamic principle of divine unity) in its spatial and symbolic fabric. Building on this significance, the research employs an interdisciplinary qualitative approach using Pictorial Narrative Mapping (PNM) as a qualitative visual tool that combines community storytelling with diagrammatic representation to trace spatial memory and symbolic meaning. Findings indicate that participatory conservation fosters collective ownership and transmits values across generations, reinforcing cultural identity as a foundation for resilience. Field evidence from the Jami Mosque of Mentok shows how locally embedded practices both affirm and extend Western semiotic frameworks, reframing them through a Global South perspective. The study positions the mosque as a pilot project for sustainable cultural policy through formal heritage designation, digital documentation, scholarly engagement with colonial‑era Malay architecture, and educational religious tourism. By integrating narrative, participatory, and visual strategies, this research offers a transferable model for heritage policy that is responsive to social change and technological innovation, aligning with global discussions on resilient, inclusive, and citizen‑driven urban futures.