Paper short abstract:

In 2012 Vega’s (Norway) photo club launched its first photo exhibition, Vegascapes. This paper discusses how the exhibition was appropriated by local islanders as a dialectic tool in the creation and establishment of their sense of place.

Paper long abstract:

In summer 2012 Vega's photo exhibition, Vegascapes, opened to the public. The author and the local photo club organized this event to share our visions of the Vega archipelago with both the local community and visitors. Surprisingly, the exhibition soon became an engaging and reflective medium for locals in particular. This paper discusses how the photo exhibition in Vega (Norway) was appropriated by local islanders as a dialectic tool in the creation and establishment of their sense of place (Massey 2004, 2005; Pierce, Martin, Murphy 2011, Loopmans et al. 2012). In particular, local teachers used the exhibition as an educational tool to stimulate their pupils' communicative and writing skills as well as to strengthen their sense of place and belonging. In addition, locals had the opportunity to re-enact their landscapes and to share their sense of place by actively discussing the photographs among each other and with visitors. This interactive process has enabled the circulation of both personal and community based narratives and has further sustained islanders' attachment to their cultural heritage.