From the Pacific Islands to the shores of South Africa, eight community-led art projects were developed with support from the Hub’s Deep Emotional Engagement Programme (DEEP) Fund. The art projects will be exhibited at the Reid Gallery in Glasgow from 15-29 April 2023. The exhibition brings together new arts-based research – led by practitioners and grassroot organisations – that reveal human relationships and emotional connections with the ocean in Ghana, South Africa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. The exhibition is curated by the Hub’s research partner Glasgow School of Art.

This exhibition, and wider One Ocean Hub research connected to it, have unveiled fundamental insights into the transformative role of arts and cultural heritage, that reinforce the key recommendations made by the UN Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights in their 2022 report on sustainable development. This exhibition serves as a reminder that art can powerfully support the recognition of different forms of knowledge about the ocean, contributing to protecting cultural human rights and valuing distinctive ocean-based livelihoods and voices that are essential for more integrated and fairer decisions about the ocean.

A digital version of the exhibition will soon be available here.

Prof Elisa Morgera

Director, One Ocean Hub
elisa.morgera@strath.ac.uk

Each of the featured works of art in the exhibition Undercurrents: Art and Ocean in Africa and the Pacific embodies locally self-determined priorities, values and aesthetics that reflect the specific circumstances of their production. Indigenous knowledge, practices and worldviews are showcased in diverse media, ranging from film and song to tapestry and wearable art.

The exhibition is curated by Dr Lisa McDonald (Post-Doctoral Research Associate, School of Simulation and Visualisation, The Glasgow School of Art, and DEEP Fund Programme Manager). The DEEP Fund programme was co-created and co-led by Prof Stuart Jeffrey (Professor of Digital Heritage, School of Simulation and Visualisation, The Glasgow School of Art, and Co-Investigator of One Ocean Hub).

The exhibition is on show at the Reid Gallery (Glasgow School of Art) in Glasgow, 15 – 29 April 2023.

Book a ticket for the preview, 14 April

Book a ticket for the Artist Talks, 15 April.

The film Cocooned in Harmony: Power, Agency and Multiple Realities in the Songs of Indigenous Ghanaian Seine Fisherfolk shows how Ghanaian artisanal fishers’ songs illuminate their identity, power/inequality and gender issues, as well as emotional connections to the ocean. These songs offer unique insights into the, often side-lined, voices of artisanal fishers.

The screening is followed by a Q&A with the director, Eric Debrah Otchere (University of Cape Coast, Ghana).

The film can also be seen at the Undercurrents exhibition.

VENUE:

Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow

2pm, 19 April 2023

Read more about the research project

The evidence submitted by a team of One Ocean Hub researchers on threats to cultural rights arising from unsustainable and exclusionary blue economy initiatives has been included in the 2022 report titled “Development and cultural rights: the principles” by UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Alexandra Xanthaki (UN Doc A/77/290). This blog post reflects on the findings of the Rapporteurs and the significance for ongoing research under the Hub.

The Hub is gathering evidence that proves that art, in all its forms, can be a powerful vehicle to amplify the views of marginalised groups who are largely underrepresented in global, national and local debates about the future of the ocean. This blog post shares early findings about the use of arts-based research to clarify and contribute to protect human rights in ocean governance.

Global Perspectives on Ocean Histories and Cultures By Golo Rosabelle Boswell (ed.) (2022). Published in The Palgrave Handbook of Blue Heritage.

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Navigating a sea of laws: the quests of small-scale fishing communities in Ghana and South Africa for protecting their customary rights By Anthea Christoffels-DuPlessis, Bolanle Erinosho, Laura Major, Elisa Morgera, Jackie Sunde and Saskia Vermeylen (2022). Published in The Palgrave Handbook of Blue Heritage, Rose Bosewell et al (ed) 325-356.

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Evolving Hegemonies of Blue Heritage: From Ancient Greece to Today By Evanthie Michalena, Jeremy Hills (2022). Published in Rose Bosewell et al (ed), The Palgrave Handbook of Blue Heritage, 51-73.

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Blue Heritage in the Blue Pacific By Jeremy Hills, Kevin Chand, Mimi George, Elise Huffer, Jens Kruger, Jale Samuwai et al (2022). Published in Rose Bosewell et al (ed), The Palgrave Handbook of Blue Heritage, 273-302.

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Other’ Social Consequences of Marine Protection in Tsitsikamma, South Africa By Jessica Leigh Thornton, Ryan Pillay (2022). Published in Rose Bosewell et al (ed), The Palgrave Handbook of Blue Heritage, 411-426.

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Narratives of Non-Compliance in “Tuesday Non-Fishing Day” in Ghana By John Windie Ansah, Georgina Yaa Oduro, David Wilson (2022). Published in Rose Bosewell et al (ed), The Palgrave Handbook of Blue Heritage, 357-382.

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Lalela uLwandle: An Experiment in Plural Governance Discussions By Kira Erwin, Taryn Pereira, Dylan McGarry, Neil Coppen (2022). Published in Rose Bosewell et al (ed), The Palgrave Handbook of Blue Heritage, 383-409.

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Waking up to Wakashio: Marine and Human Disaster in Mauritius By Rosabelle Boswell (2022). Published in Rose Bosewell et al (ed), The Palgrave Handbook of Blue Heritage, 225-250.

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Integrating communities’ customary laws into marine small-scale fisheries governance in Ghana: Reflections on the FAO Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries By Harrison K. Golo, Sulley Ibrahim, Bolanle Erinosho (2022). Published in Review of European, Comparative, & International Law.

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Unravelling the perpetuated marginalisation of customary livelihoods on the coast by plural and multi-level conservation governance systems By Philile Mbatha (2022). Published in Marine Policy.

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