E68 - Who Are We Now? An exploration of modern Highland identity

UNESCO RIELA: The sounds of integration

This episode is a rerecording of a session we hosted at the UNESCO RILA Spring School: The Arts of Integrating 2023, hosted by By Nadine Malcolm (Due North Studio), Lee McNeish (University of Edinburgh) and Cáit O'Neill McCullagh (independent artist). "Who Are We Now?" explores the destruction, and subsequent emergence, of culture in the northern Highlands, centred around the concepts of agency and ownership, and how destruction creates space for the new. How does learning about loss help give agency over the destruction of the Highland Clearances, and through that, create space for communities to forge their own present and futures. Asking the question; how has our culture loss and destruction led us to be who we are now, and what does that look like? In the true spirit of the ceilidh, this work by its very nature should be collaborative. Whilst providing a framework, Nadine, Lee and Cáit invite community groups and individuals to reflect creatively on these topics to present a lively and open exploration of modern Highland identity. For the full show notes, including biographies, please visit bit.ly/thesoundsofintegration