Sensory Communities; Sensory Studies; Storytelling;

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85112585263&doi=10.1007%2f978-3-030-76694-8_1&partnerID=40&md5=0cc684cc4b4cab43020590f0d3fafcd3

This paper reflects on the use of walking as a tool for exploring, situating and actualising local cultural stories, while it investigates how walks, when infused with the element of storytelling, can ignite the sensory imagination, trigger memories associated with the place, generate new or hidden stories and reinforce a sense of place and community. The case study under discussion is the cultural and learning initiative ‘Sound of Kythera’ (2016), which involved a six-month cultural expedition to the island of Kythera, Greece, with a mixed group of artists, educators and academics collaborating with high-school participants and other members of the local community. Through a series of walks (memory walks, silent sensory walks and performative walks) the project aimed to explore, actualise and interpret the history, mythology and folklore of the island. Analysing the interpretations generated by the community, as well as ethnographic observations, the paper asserts that walking when combined with storytelling, can be a powerful methodological tool for embodying and aestheticising intangible cultural heritage.