The Red Dahlia Project

This project started as an academic pursuit and transitioned into an on-going real-life experience.

 

Conducted as a partial requirement for my M.A. in Art and Social Practice from the University of the Highlands and Islands, the project engages members of my extended MacAulay family in co-creating a shared sense of identity and place, working to find ways to relate to each other within shifting circumstances while online, on-the-land, and in-person. 

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As the last generation leaves the land, we must work to maintain our kinship with each other, the land, and all those who share it. Without such ties, we feel alone. Both our environment and ourselves become more vulnerable to the negative effects of  socio-economic-political change. 

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Kinship keeps us strong. 

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The project has commanded a great deal of research. To share that learning and to honour the aesthetic forms of my ancestors, I have made a virtual quilt for you. 

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I invite you to click below and interact with the Red Dahlia Quilt. Which pieces draw your eye? Click there, and you will find book recommendations, articles, essays, reports, art works, video clips, and songs - all meant to stimulate your own learning and reflection on ideas related to belonging and its disruption and the ways in which the arts can hold us when we feel adrift.

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The site also features artifacts for your learning and enjoyment and a peek at participants' conversations.

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