Background to

Sgeulachdan na Mara - Sea Stories

Sgeulachdan na Mara - Sea Stories grew out of collaborative research undertaken by social ecologists Ruth Brennan and Iain MacKinnon and audio-visual material generated by artist Stephen Hurrel, for the publication Dùthchas na Mara/Belonging to the Sea (Authors: MacKinnon and Brennan. Photographs: Hurrel)

The idea of a dynamic map - to reflect intergenerational knowledge, fishermen’s ways of knowing the sea and the intangible cultural heritage* of the marine environment - had been discussed by Brennan and MacKinnon, and Hurrel proposed the idea of an interactive digital map. This was subsequently developed by Hurrel and Brennan as a way of bringing to life, and making visible, what is often invisible to most people.

Hurrel and Brennan decided to collaborate on a Barra-related project following their participation in Cape Farewell’s Scottish Islands Expedition 2011. Following on from the Barra projects they received an award from Imagining Natural Scotland in 2013 to collaborate on producing a short film in response to the Firth of Clyde, titled Clyde Reflections , which they are currently working on.



*The UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage 2003 provides international protection for the intangible aspects of cultural diversity.