Starling Cafe (Ullapool, Macphail Centre)

The Starling Café at the Macphail Centre is a relaxed place for ideas, reflection and conversation.

The café is open to everyone but places are limited, so we ask that you book in advance. 

The theme for this session is 'Making and Remaking Home in Times of Change' with Azadeh Fatehrad.

How do people cope with leaving their homes whether by choice or not, and how do we build a sense of belonging to a new place? Looking at the experiences of diverse individuals, Azadeh Fatehrad will lead us toward considering what home means for us, and how we might think about it differently in these times of change in the world.

Azadeh Fatehrad is Professor of Art and Public Policy, and Programme Director of Inclusive and Empowered Places at Teeside University. Her work bridges participatory art, migration studies and social policy, exploring how individuals and communities make, unmake and remake a sense of home in contexts of displacement and change.

Azadeh works across the UK, Europe and the Middle East. Through her research and practice she foregrounds the emotional, cultural and relational dimensions of home, and considers a sense of belonging to be continually made through participation, care and collective imaginations.

Running every few weeks, the Starling Cafe is an evening event which includes a speaker, tea and coffee, and room for informal and open-ended conversation. It is a place to explore ideas and get to know a few other people in our community. The topics explored in this series include community, hope, belonging, diversity, resilience and resistance. Guests included Mairi McFadyen, Doug Francisco and Alastair McIntosh.

This event takes place in a café style setting. No-flipcharts, no public feedback, no action points, no right answers: the aim is simply to have a safe and hospitable space to talk and explore.  We are grateful that this event is possible thanks to support from the Macphail Management Committee and Ullapool's Fairtrade Group who are 20 years old this year.

PLEASE BOOK IN ADVANCE.  Free entry, though the Starling Cafe depends on donations, so contributions to help us cover our costs are warmly appreciated (see booking page for options).

If you don't want to use this online process to book, you can contact Joanna at joanna.wright@highlifehighland.com to book a place.

Donations of baking are also welcome (please contact Joanna as above).

Please access the Macphail Centre via the library, which opens at 6pm.

We will look forward to seeing you!