Case Study: Arts and Sustainability Thematic Group
this/OUR
Academics and Institutional Affiliation:
Dr Kevin O’Sullivan
University of Galway
Background:
this/OUR is a community deep mapping project exploring Glenbower Wood, Killeagh, Co. Cork, through art, history, ecology and citizen science, led by artists Basil Al-Rawi, Chris Finnegan, Katie Nolan and Philip Ryan in partnership with Greywood Arts Center, Killeagh, and mentors Cathy Fitzgerald (ecologist, Haumea Ecoversity) , Jonski Millar (archaeologist and citizen science expert).
Deep mapping is a transdisciplinary process that layers community voices, artistic interpretations, historical narratives, and ecological perspectives into a multidimensional narrative of place. This methodology, inspired by Jorge Luis Borges' short essay On Exactitude in Science, allows us to explore the tension between the precision in defining "THIS" place and the transient, relational nature of "OUR" connection to it.
This/OUR starts with Glenbower Wood as a living breathing archive; one consistently under threat from both past & future human & more-than-human pressures. Using the focal point of this wood & the Dissour River that runs through it we will explore these pressures through the medium of a shared collective output: a three-dimensional interactive deep map. This map will be composed of layered methodologies with each component led by one of the artists creating a holistic & immersive installation that will appear at Greywood Arts at many junctures over the duration of the project.
The project plan includes multiple actors & creative approaches fostering community-based actions where the diverse conditions & material realities of Glenbower Wood are unravelled as alternatives to neoliberal domination of public space. Sensorial mapping & participatory workshops will enhance community perceptions of place environment & ownership calling attention to previously overlooked aspects & our anthropocentric priorities. Collaboration with contemporary historians will enhance this dialogue & provide a rich contextual framework linking past events to current ecological & social dynamics.
Including voices from schoolchildren, active retirees, former factory workers & new refugee communities & incorporating more-than-human perspectives we aim to foster a cross-cultural multi-generational & inter-species approach strengthening a sense of place & belonging, recognising ecosystems’ transcendence of traditional anthropomorphic concepts & boundaries.
Impacts, Outcomes, and Key Learnings:
This project is still ongoing. However, there have been several events held to date, the most prominent of which took place as part of the May Sunday festival, 2025. To date, the emphasis has been on engaging local groups with the deep mapping process.
Webpage:
Project website: https://thisour.ie/
Les Roberts, ‘Deep mapping and spatial anthropology’, Humanities, 5:1 (2016), https://doi.org/10.3390/h5010005.
SDGs impacted:
SDG 4, SDG 11, SDG 13 & SDG 17
