Bridging Heritage & Innovation: Stories Unseen at the WA State Heritage Conference

At this year’s WA State Heritage Conference, Erin Clark—CEO and Co-Founder of Stories Unseen—took to the stage to unpack one of the most pressing questions facing the heritage sector today: How do we keep heritage relevant in a world glued to screens and hungry for personalisation?

The answer? It’s not just about tech. Except, sometimes... it absolutely is.

The Starting Point

Stories Unseen began as an adventure—one that emerged in response to the empty streets of post-lockdown Perth. Erin and her co-founder Damien Fitzpatrick weren’t trying to “disrupt heritage.” They just wanted people to connect again—with place, with stories, and with each other.

What started as a self-guided walking tour for history lovers soon revealed a bigger gap: most people aren’t history nerds. At least, not in the way traditional heritage experiences expect them to be.

The Shift: From Preservation to Participation

Erin highlighted that old methods don’t always land. Today’s audiences crave tailored, flexible, and personal experiences. They want to connect—while still being attached to their devices. And that tension is exactly where Stories Unseen lives.

By blending place-based storytelling with accessible technology, the platform offers self-guided tours that don’t feel like homework. No app downloads. No awkward QR codes. Just an intuitive digital experience that feels like a friend showing you around—whether you're walking the backstreets of Fremantle or road-tripping to the Pinnacles.

It’s Not About the Tech... Except When It Totally Is

Erin was clear: technology is just a tool. But if your audience expects digital fluency and you deliver a PDF, you've lost them. The real magic happens when emerging tech is used intentionally—to remove friction, unlock creativity, and create immersive moments of discovery.

She shared the evolution of the “Storytelling Toolbox” at Stories Unseen—from audio to animation, from social justice narratives to nature walks. Each experience is crafted around the question: How will they get the story? and What kind of story will actually land?

Where Next?

Erin closed with a simple reminder: technology will keep changing. But stories that connect? They never go out of style.

Stories Unseen continues to explore how to make heritage more participatory, playful, and personally meaningful—especially for audiences who don’t usually think of themselves as “heritage people.”

And while the room was overflowing with standing room only, the sense was that many in the sector are still catching their breath. But conversations like these offer a gentle nudge forward, building on the deep storytelling, research, and place-based knowledge the sector already holds. Innovation doesn’t have to be loud to be meaningful—it just needs to meet people where they are.