Place-Based Art with Narrative Cartography

Narrative cartography is an emerging field of research that looks at the relationship between maps and stories. Whether lived or literary, plot lines connect storylines and unearth the myriad of relationships alive in an ecosystem. Narratives are set in real and imagined places, and maps hold the stories of our many paths in life.   Early mapmaking joins traditional mythology, folklore, and song as a carrier of knowledge of place and other-than-human life. These customs serve a key function in society for portraying cultural worldviews and helping individuals orient to life systems. In this way, narrative cartographies influence human relationships with place and other-than-human life.   The characteristics of an environment impact our experiences just as much as our experiences impact the characteristics of an environment.   The places we shape, shape us.
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The Field Notes Workbook for Narrative Cartography   was developed in 2018 for a master's-level qualitative research self-study at Sonoma State University to address the question, "how can a holistic sense of self, inclusive of the more-than-human world, be explored?" The Field Notes Workbook for Narrative Cartography grew from this research to be used as a creative guide to explore my subjective experience and observations of my relationships with an ecology of place. Supported by the theoretical field of narrative cartography, this practice of mapmaking is informed by somatic, narrative, and expressive arts psychologies. The Field Notes Workbook and accompanying activities are intended to inspire curiosity and deepen a reflective relationship with the web of life. The motivation for this inquiry stems from a commitment to sustainable adaptation in the face of changing climate and loss of biodiversity, as well as curiosity of the mass-migrations throughout history.

Contact Shmee for more information about group excursions and visit www.narrativecartography.com for more!