This year’s Conference of Irish Geographers will be hosted by University College Cork, Department of Geography with the theme ‘Connected Environments: Integration and Resilience’, on the 6th – 8th May 2026: https://www.conferenceofirishgeographers.ie
The DataStories team is organising a session entitled: Arts-based and experimental methods in geographical investigation
Within academia there has been an increase in and acceptance of projects that propose using arts-based and experimental methods to respond to global challenges that require reimagining, reinventing and reorganising approaches to research. In this session we seek to uncover the diverse forms of arts-based and experimental methods used in geographical investigation. We are looking for researchers who are currently engaged in research projects that adopt creative methods. Collectively, we aim to theorise the transformative potential of such methodologies for addressing pressing social, economic and environmental concerns. Beyond considering the benefits of creative methodologies, we are also interested in comprehending the challenges which emerge when incorporating creative methods into research inquiry and the ways we might mitigate or soften possible obstacles to such engagements.
We invite discussions on the use of arts-based and experimental methods including, but not limited to:
- The new and hybrid methods emerging in geography (and cognate disciplines)
- How different cultural and geographical contexts influence selected methods
- How specifically arts-based and experimental methods generate new ways of seeing, understanding and acting
- Limitations and challenges of using arts-based and experimental methods
- How creative methods can be used to co-create with stakeholders outside of the discipline and sector
- Misuse of and ethics around arts-based and experimental methods
Session organisers: Juliette Davret, Oliver Dawkins, Carla Maria Kayanan, Rob Kitchin and Samuel Mutter
Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute/Department of Geography, Maynooth University
Please submit abstracts (no more than 250 words) for this special session to Carla Maria Kayanan (carla.kayanan@mu.ie) by 15 March. We will alert you on the outcome of your abstract by 20 March to give you sufficient time to upload your abstract to the CIG portal before it closes on 27 March.
For a copy of the CFP flyer for this session, click here: PDF
To view the other session we are organising, click here: Call For Papers (1/2): Geographers in the policy arena: Building bridges between academia and evidence-based policymaking, CIG 2026
