Mairi is an ethnologist and cultural activist based in Inverness. She holds both a Masters and PhD in ethnology from the University of Edinburgh and has taught courses in culture and heritage in both higher education (University of Edinburgh; Newbattle Abbey College) and non-formal settings. She has contributed to the development to a number of creative projects and has worked with various cultural organisations including TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland), and, more recently, The Shieling Project, a social enterprise leading in heritage and sustainability education. Read more
Welcoming Mairi on board, Steve commented: “Having worked with her in various guises over the past few years in a range of cultural and academic projects, I’m delighted that Mairi is joining us in Local Voices. I’ve seen first-hand her organisational and presentational abilities, backed up by rigorous research skills, grounded in her belief in the importance of viewing the cultural ecology of people, their communities and – crucially for our work – their place. With a keen eye for design and detail, as well as a rich constituency of contacts developed in recent years, Mairi’s talents will be a real asset to Local Voices, enhancing our planning and strategic capabilities. I’m looking forward to working with her on a range of inspiring projects across Scotland in the coming year.” @arbroathsinger
Chris reflected: “Mairi’s skills and vision will bring tremendous benefit to Local Voices, in particular her fantastic ability to describe and clarify the complex cultural and social processes which are at the heart of our work in communities. These qualities and strengths are rooted in her fundamental passion for local culture and everyday creativity, and our collaborations in the past have yielded a great deal of insight into how Local Voices might improve our practice. I’m very excited to embark on our coming programme of work, including a significant development phase, which will both now bear the hallmarks of Mairi’s talent and imagination.” @scotssong
Mairi commented: “It is a joy to join fellow ethnologists Chris and Steve through Local Voices. Together they have a wealth of experience and knowledge and have really led the way with their approach to applied ethnology and place-based traditional arts education in Scotland. I jumped at the chance to work with them precisely because their approach is deeply and unapologetically informed by ethnological values: they recognise and foreground the value of human experience, shunning short-term novelty in favour of sustained meaningful engagement and long-term vision. Their approach highlights the importance of seeing tradition as rooted in place but not fixed in history, rather moving forward through time in a way that is inclusive of all those who live here. In this sense, the Local Voices approach offers the possibility of re-visioning local life, where roots and memories make dreaming the future possible.” @mjmcfadyen
Local Voices will be outlining its goals and vision in a series of articles which will be available in the coming months through www.localvoices.co.uk. If you’d like to be kept up to date with this and other Local Voices projects, please sign up to our mailing list.