Art and the Healing Powers of Morecambe Bay

The MARBEFES socio-cultural valuation team has investigated how marine ecosystems support ecological, cultural, and economic benefits—and how these benefits can be enhanced and protected through policy. 
One part of the project examined art and literature emerging from parts of Morecambe Bay, England, in the first quarter of the twenty-first century, a period marked by a flourishing of socially- and ecologically-engaged creative practice in the region. These artworks respond to the region's local and global challenges while helping communities imagine more sustainable futures. 
The project uses a story map to narrate relationships between art and ecology, especially two-way processes of healing between people and place. Long known for its fresh air and coastal vistas, Morecambe Bay has a longstanding reputation as a restorative place. Art is an often overlooked but powerful dimension of that healing capacity, enriching wellbeing, deepening attachment to place, and fostering care for local ecologies. 

Click here to explore the story map on Art and the Healing Powers of Morecambe Bay. 

 

Header image credit: Robin Zahler