Call for Partipation: Catharsis and Connection Through Art and Cartography

from “A Sense of Impending Doom: A Strata-Walk for Turbulent Times”

The International Cartographic Association (ICA) Commission on Art & Cartography invites you to participate in their ICC2021 Pre-Conference Workshop: Catharsis and Connection Through Art and Cartography

Date: December 13^th, 2021

Place: Florence, Italy and simultaneous Zoom

Call for Participation: 

In the summer of 2020, the Commission for Art and Cartography (ArtCarto) of the International Cartographic Society, in partnership with the Hamilton Perambulatory Unit (HPU), presented A Sense of Impending Doom: A Strata-Walk for Turbulent Times (https://impendingdoomwalk.wordpress.com/). This experimental, emotional, ephemeral mapping event relied on the body-as-sensor moving through space, as well as other techniques of reading, framing and re-framing one’s self and surroundings as we explored how we sense and deal with impending doom in our everyday lives and in our creative work. We wish to follow up further on our findings of Impending Doom with a new call for workshop proposals, this one focusing on Catharsis and Connection Through Art and Cartography.

As the world attempts to find a new post-pandemic normal, how can mapping contribute to catharsis and connection? How can we move forward towards new relations, better ways of being and being together? Our next event will take place as a pre-conference workshop of the 30th International Cartographic Conference (Dec. 14-18). The goal of this workshop is to provide an intellectual and creative space to share different ideas and methodologies about how creative mapping practices can provide a sense of catharsis and connection towards post-pandemic times.

Works that capture the processes of creative mapping, spanning the fields of critical, emotional, sensual, cinematic, socially engaged cartography, are especially welcome. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: speculative mapping, science-fiction/utopias, feral cartography, culinary mapping, locative media art, soundscapes, smellscapes and touchscapes, physical contact or lack of, crowds, trauma mapping, rhythms of the day or night, etc. 

Please submit a short bio and a 200-250 word abstract that outlines your proposed project or activities for the workshop. Website links and images of creative works are encouraged. Indicate whether you are interested in meeting in person at the International Cartographic Conference in Florence (if possible), or will participate online. Note that registration in the main ICC Conference (which requires fees) is not required. This workshop is open to all and free of charge.

To submit, or for more information, please contact the Chair of the Commission for Art and Cartography, Taien Ng-Chan: taien [at] yorku [dot] ca.

Deadline: SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2021

Upcoming: Online series of conversations around maps and stories

SCHEDULE 

Wednesday Feb. 3, 2021 (12:00-13:30 EST): Reflections on cartographic languages when collectively mapping possible worlds

• Séverin Halder – Activist, geographer & co-editor of “This Is Not an Atlas” 
• Paul Schweizer – Geographer, popular educator & co-editor of “This Is Not an Atlas” 
• Pablo Mansilla Quiñones – Associate Professor, Institute of Geography. Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso. 

Registration: https://concordia-ca.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvcOuvpzMiG9GqsMlDlxEq_50w_qi20MVn?fbclid=IwAR0OkpwQTbOrT4q904C_5-qgBuavD-qZbrUN4upD1nALojbP4tLjd99KSqk

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Thursday Feb. 25, 2021 (12:00-13:30 EST): Listening

• Anne Knowles – Historical geographer & professor of history at University of Maine 
• Margaret Pearce – Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member and cartographer 

Registration: https://concordia-ca.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwkceCqpjgrHtB3rSdJ5TmXnPYef_NjPGTt?fbclid=IwAR0qMhXJplcAaI4znvDdHn6KI3R5Kb7C-ht9_gpjrH1i24cCgVgkFcTmzts 

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Tuesday March 23, 2021 (14:30-16:00 EST): Weaving stories threads: An Indigenous Cartographic Engagement

• Annita Lucchesi – Cheyenne & PhD student at the University of Arizona
• Pualani Louis – Kanaka ʻŌiwi & Associate Researcher with UC Davis Native American Studies

Registration: https://concordia-ca.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUudOisrTgoEt0YDodiAdFuhqNf69gkwhQs?fbclid=IwAR3q-31EaaPzVaVTEfBvzmU_sN6UXuHEZzaYLicnZC9oL-NKsLTfbaO85Fk

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Thursday April 8, 2021 (12:00-13:30 EST): Mapping the Skin and the Guts of Exile’s Stories

• Élise Olmedo – Banting Postdoctoral fellow at Concordia University 
• Sébastien Caquard – Associate Professor of Geography & co-director of the Center for Oral History and Digital storytelling (COHDS) at Concordia University 

Registration: https://concordia-ca.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEtf-uhrTkpEtMbdfOcgBpXuAVF_QClEa2d?fbclid=IwAR3HnsR5XNGnmNg0-evexVyLoWVcm_hrd_N2OgQy6ZMlO9fSqMWqeiOap4Q

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Thursday June 3, 2021 (12:00-13:30 EST): Speaking (with) maps: A threefold map-talk on cartographic objects, narratives and migrancies

• Tania Rossetto – Associate Professor of Cultural Geography & Co-convenor of the Mobility & Humanities Centre, University of Padua
• Laura Lo Presti – Postdoc Researcher, University of Padua & ICOG Visiting Research Fellow, University of Groeningen
• Giada Peterle – Lecturer in Literary Geography, University of Padua 

Registration: https://concordia-ca.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZItfu2oqzksGdw9Pkjyz9NTp-3wlPOwdYZ-?fbclid=IwAR2CNO_5dzzXUNilSsesq1EBS4CPWDWTjH4mzcz7LqBvQMpWluiJf-yJWqQ

Maps-and-stories 2021_PDFDownload

Poster design by Sepideh

Archival traces and ephemeral moments: website & video documenting the workshop A Sense of Impending Doom

The last few months of social distancing and general uncertainty about the future have generated a new appreciation for collectivity, closeness, and community. As we are separated from each other and travelling is no longer a viable option, how can we find ways to share and connect through a sense of beingness, while remaining in the safety of our own homes?

The Art & Cartography Commission of the International Cartographic Society, in partnership with the Hamilton Perambulatory Unit, presented an online “walkshop” in July 2020, as part of the conference Drifting Bodies/Fluent Spaces. The event investigated the act of mapping and situating ourselves, confronting our anxieties, as well as tuning in to what brings us comfort in our own space. The group of 30 participants, located all over the world, connected and sensed each other in unique ways through a series of analog mapping exercises that took place in the virtual space of Zoom. Using simple tools in their vicinity, such as a piece of paper, a camera, and a marker, the participants captured their bodies in space, the sky above their heads, as well as their relationships and emotions to their environment.

Visit the website to view the traces and outcomes of the Strata-Mapping exercises, as well as the full video documentation featuring various perspectives – from the bird’s-eye view of the zoom grid to the close-ups of the personal and intimate moments.

https://impendingdoomwalk.wordpress.com/

Want to participate?

It’s not too late and we hope that the archive will keep growing! Discover new and unique ways to experience mapping the space that surrounds you by following the set of exercises listed on the “Outcomes” page. Send your emotional and sensorial Strata-Map to hamiltonperambulatoryunit@gmail.com

A Sense of Impending Doom: a strata-walk for turbulent times

Date: WEDNESDAY, JULY 22ND, 2020
Time: 7AM LOS ANGELES; 10AM TORONTO; 3pm GUIMARÃES (Portugal); 12AM MIDNIGHT MELBOURNE
Place: Simultaneous world-wide Zoom & in Guimarães (please email walk.lab2pt@gmail.com to register if you would like to attend in person, outdoors and safely distanced)

HPU + ArtCarto Investigating the Impending Zoom

How do we sense and deal with impending doom in our everyday lives and in our creative work? Can sensorial and mundane art-making practices help us to map our way out? The Hamilton Perambulatory Unit (HPU), in partnership with the Commission for Art and Cartography (ArtCarto) of the International Cartographic Society, presents a Strata-Walk (Doom and Zoom edition) for turbulent times. This live, online event will begin with a video presentation/performance on the Strata-Walk, HPU’s framework of stratigraphic place-making and mapping, before turning the focus onto the digital and technological space that connects us. Using a system of prompts, Strata-Walkers map their environments in a performative gesture by turning their attention to one element of place, then documenting it in a Strata-Map. This experimental, emotional, ephemeral cartography relies on the body-as-sensor moving through space, as well as other techniques of reading, framing and re-framing one’s self and surroundings.

For this walkshop (part of the international conference Drifting Bodies/Fluent Spaces), four members of HPU and ArtCarto – located in Canada, the US, and Australia – will lead participants through an investigation of the digital strata of Zoom and the intimate, analog materialities strata of one’s room (if in lockdown, as many still are) or wherever one happens to be. Starting in the centre of our collective Zoom and doom, we will explore our embodied emotions, networked places, and live speculative imaginings, mapping our way out to find the sky above us all. The resulting collective mappings will be constructed into an ad hoc art exhibition and all participants will share credit.

Participants are asked to bring one or two sheets of blank paper, a black marker, a device with a camera, and the web-conferencing application Zoom pre-downloaded (can be on same device as camera, or ideally, a separate device). A Zoom link with password will be shared a day before the event.

For registration or more info, contact: hamiltonperambulatoryunit@gmail.com

Conference website: https://walk.lab2pt.net/

Tokyo July 13-14, 2019 – Workshop on Mapping The Olympic Sites

Commission for Art & Cartography’s Preconference Workshop

Title: Reclaiming Through Mapping: The Olympic Sites of Tokyo

Date and Time: Saturday, July 13^th (10am-4pm) – Sunday, July 14^th (10am-4pm)

Place: Tokyo Metropolitan University, Akihabara Satellite Campus, Meeting room B

Call for Participation: The International Cartographic Association (ICA) Commission on Art & Cartography invites you to participate in their Pre-Conference Workshop “Reclaiming through Mapping: Olympic Sites of Tokyo.” Some of these spaces, including the main conference venue, are on reclaimed land or artificial islands in Tokyo Bay built out of waste landfill. This workshop investigates the question of how place is constructed and mapped, using an experimental methodology developed by the artist-research collective Hamilton Perambulatory Unit, who will lead a participatory mapping walk in Tokyo that looks to uncover the layers of urban development history of the 2 Tokyo Olympics and the high-growth (1964) and post-growth (2020) periods they represent. This interdisciplinary workshop uses hybrid spatial and sensory ethnography and intermedial approaches to map a site and distinguish the layers of time, history, materiality, and digital city-image. Participants will be asked to contribute to the final multi-media strata-map of Tokyo’s Olympic sites.

Workshop Description: To begin this two-day workshop, we will meet at the Tokyo Metropolitan University for short presentations to contextualize our experimental and sensory mapping methodologies, before continuing the discussion on the trains while heading towards the Toyosu fish market for lunch (45min from Akihabara). We will then visit the nearby construction site of the Athlete’s Village on Harumi Island while we give some background on the area, and spend some time mapping the site. On the second day, we will meet at one of the 1964 Olympic sites to further explore mapping methodologies before heading back to Tokyo Metropolitan University to share results. The data collected will help answer the following research questions: How does the official Olympic narrative affect the sites? How do experimental cartographies work to investigate how place is constructed?

Registration: The workshop is open to everyone with an interest in sensory mapping art practices and experimental cartographies. Registration is required and is free of charge. Please note that it is not necessary to be registered for the main ICC conference (which requires fees) to be able to attend the workshop. For more information or to register, please contact Taien Ng-Chan taien [at] yorku.ca or Sharon Hayashi hayashi [at] yorku.ca. Please include a short bio and indicate your interest in the workshop.

NEW: Creative Documentation Video (shot and edited by Sarah Choi)

Maps and Emotions workshop – Day 2

In a morning we met at the Jefferson memorial. Mathilde Christmann and Elise Olmedo (and Mathias Poisson) took us to a multi sensory mapping activity. Following a map score methodology we walked around the site focusing on our emotions and perceptions and we then we mapped our experiences.

In the afternoon we went back to the Washington University Library and had two series of papers presentations followed by discussions and exchanges on multiple aspects of the relationships between maps and emotions. We kept the discussions going on a rooftop bar near the University. Now we need to decide what to do with all the great material presented and created during these two days…

Maps and Emotions workshop – Day 1

About 60 people joined us for this first day, witch was more than the 50 people expected. Fortunately, the beautiful room that was made available for us (Thanks Nuala Cowan) at the National Churchill Library and Center at George Washington University.

This first afternoon was divided in two parts. During the first half of the afternoon we had six stimulating presentations on different aspects of the relationships between maps, places, emotions, nostalgia and memory. Then after the break, the group was divided in two: one subgroup went outside under the rain to collect images based on different topographic maps of Washington DC, while the second subgroup stayed cool inside drawing time maps about their journeys to the workshop (more details about the program of the workshop here).

Program Maps & Emotions workshop / July 1-2, 2017 / Washington DC

This workshop aims to bring together artists, scholars and students from cartography, geography, the humanities and the arts who are interested in exploring further the relationships between maps, emotions and places. We have a combination of presentations and activities planned to foster these discussions.

The workshop is jointly organized by the ICA Commissions on Art & Cartography, Cognitive Issues in Geographic Information Visualization (CogVis), and Topographic Mapping.

 

Preliminary Program

Saturday 1 July 2017

12:15 – 12:30 Registration

12:30 – 12:45 Workshop Opening

Introduction to the workshop
Sébastien Caquard, Canada, Amy Griffin, Australia, and Alex Kent, UK

12:45 – 14:15 Session 1 – Mapping Memories (Chair: Alex Kent)

Mapping memories in a flooded landscape: a place reenactment project
Justine Gagnon, Université Laval, Canada

Cartographic narratives and deep mapping: a conceptual proposal
Daniel Melo Ribeiro, PUCSP, Brazil

Nostalgic landscapes: Virtually visiting the past with the Liquid Galaxy
Amanda B. Tickner, Michigan State University, USA

Personal Geographies: Experimental Mapmaking through Archive and Memory
Cristina Jumbo and Carolina Velasco, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador

Mapping as a means to evoke sensory impression and experience
Joanna Gardener, RMIT University, Australia

Off Course: A Creative Exploration of Cartography, Cuisine and Narrative
Kelsey Boylan and Preethi Balakrishnan, University of Texas, Austin, USA

14:15 – 14:45 Coffee Break

14:45 – 16:45 Parallel Activities

Experiencing Washington, DC through the maps of the other
Alexander Kent, Canterbury Christchurch University, UK, and Anja Hopfstock, Bundesamt fur Kartographie und Geodesie, Germany

Mapping the path or a destiny – Chronography
Olga Kisseleva, Pantheon-Sorbonne University, France and Aleksandra Stanczak, France

16:45 – 17:30 Parallel Activity Wrap-Up

 

Sunday 2 July 2017

9:00 – 11:00 On-Site Activity at FDR Memorial, National Mall

Through the Sensible, Maps and Scores
Mathilde Christmann, Elise Olmedo, and Mathias Poisson, France

We will meet at the FDR Memorial on the National Mall

11:00 – 13:00 Lunch and Return Travel to the Churchill Center, Gelman Library, George Washington University

13:00 – 14:30 Session 2 – Tools and Representations (Chair: Sébastien Caquard)

Drawing videogame mental maps: from emotional games to emotions of play
Hovig Ter Minassian, University of Tours, France and Manuel Boutet, University of Nice, France

3D Mapping of Safety Perception using Augmented Reality,
Andrew Bell, Antoni Moore, and Sandra Mandic, University of Otago, New Zealand

LINESCAPES: virtual and real experiences of cities
Javiera Advis, Germany

Emotional maps as participatory planning support mechanism
Jirka Panek, Palacky University at Olomouc, Czech Republic

Putting placemarks on watermarks: mapping, fluidity and the River of Emotions
Cate Turk, University of Western Australia, Australia

Viewpoints evoke emotions
Julia Mia Stirnemann, University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland

14:30 – 15:00 Coffee Break

15:00 – 16:30 Session 3 – Perception and Cognition (Chair: Amy Griffin)

Social perception of flood risk in maps: emotions or reality?
Jan D. Bláha, Czech Republic

Mapping experiences of personal appropriation of a new place from a diachronic perspective,
Carmen Brando¹, Catherine Dominguès², Laurence Jolivet², Eric Mermet¹ and Sevil Seten¹, EHESS Paris,¹ Institut Géographique National,² France

Emotional Lines: Collectively mapping Syrian border stories
Meghan Kelly, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA

Visual analysis of objective and subjective references to locations and places
Susanne Bleisch and Daria Hollenstein, FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Switzerland

Emotional Framing of Climate Change Maps
Carolyn Fish, Penn State University, USA, and Amy Griffin, UNSW Canberra, Australia

Mapping Emotions: Examples of Power Places
Alenka Poplin, Iowa State University, USA

16:30 – 17:00 Wrap-up (Chairs: Sébastien Caquard and Amy Griffin)

Call for Participants: Maps and Emotions Workshop, ICC 2017

A call for participants for a workshop on Maps and Emotions that will take place in Washington DC on July 1-2, 2017 prior to the 28th International Cartographic Conference. The goal of this workshop is to provide an intellectual and creative space to share different ideas and methodologies that can help further exploring the complex relationships that exist between places, maps and emotions.

Feel free to disseminate this call in your networks and let us know if you have any questions.

Maps & Emotions

Workshop organized by the International Cartographic Association (ICA) Commissions on Cognitive Issues in Geographic Information Visualization & Art and Cartography, Washington DC, July 1-2, 2017

For the last couple of decades, the importance of integrating emotions and affects in studying places has been broadly acknowledged, which led certain authors to talk about an “emotional turn” in geography (Thien 2005; Davidson et al. 2007). This emotional turn has also affected cartography where the relationships between maps and emotions have been explored from two different perspectives; scientific and artistic. A more scientific approach, characterized by the growing interest to study emotions generated by different types of cartographic designs (Fabrikant et al. 2012; Muehlenhaus 2012; Griffin and McQuoid 2012) and by the use of social media and digital technologies to collect and represent emotions generated by certain locations (Hauthal and Burghardt 2013; Klettner et al. 2013). A more artistic approach is characterized by the will to capture and express cartographically the emotions associated with places in a sensitive way. Artists such as Christian Nold and Ariane Littman have been exploring alternative cartographic ways of capturing emotions and affects associated with certain places. This growing interest in mapping emotions is also reflected within the emergence of the concept of “deep mapping”, which is based on the idea that we can truly understand places only by taking into account the memories, emotions, and perceptions associated with them. These different approaches have in common that they need to address the complex question of how to characterize affects and emotions and how to map them? The goal of this workshop is to provide an intellectual and creative space to share different ideas and methodologies that can help addressing this question.

This workshop aims to bring together artists, scholars and students from cartography, geography, the humanities and the arts who are interested in exploring further the relationships between maps, emotions and places. We would like to invite participants interested in discussing and debating any type of relationship between these elements including:

• The theoretical underpinning of mapping emotions;
• The cognitive aspects of designing maps that can trigger emotions and in understanding how emotions influence map use;
• The methodologies developed in arts, sciences and the humanities for collecting emotional material associated with places (e.g. memories, perceptions);
• The technological and practical aspects of mapping emotions;
• The social and political implications of mapping emotions and designing emotional maps

Submission process and important dates

• To participate in the workshop, each participant must submit either (1) an abstract describing the research / artistic project s/he would like to present (max. 500 words); or (2) a proposal describing the emotional mapping activity s/he would like to organize and the logistical issues associated with it (e.g. how long the activity should last? Do you need special material or venue?) (max. 1,000 words).
• Each abstract/proposal should be summited by September 30th, 2016 to Amy Griffin (a.griffin@adfa.edu.au), and Sébastien Caquard (sebastien.caquard@concordia.ca) who will share them with the other members of the scientific committee: Julia Mia Stirnemann and Sidonie Christophe.
• These discussions will be structured around two types of activities: (1) conventional academic presentations enabling individuals to talk about their own research and artistic practices; and (2) emotional mapping activities organized by some of the participants to address one or several aspects of the relationships between maps and emotions (e.g. data collection in some identified neighborhoods in Washington DC; designing maps that could trigger emotional responses; testing the effectiveness of emotional maps).

Logistics 

The workshop will be hosted by The George Washington University, located downtown Washington DC. The workshop will be free of charge, but the participants will have to pay for their food and lodging (a list will be provided on the 28th International Cartographic Conference website: http://www.icc2017.org/).

Timeline 

• July 18th, 2016 – First Call for Participants;
• Sept. 1st, 2016 – Second Call for Participants;
• Sept. 30th, 2016 – Deadline for submitting abstracts or activities proposals;
• Nov. 1st, 2016 – Successful Applicants notified;
• Jan. 15th, 2017 – Participants confirm their participation
• Feb. 2017 – Preliminary program released;
• May 2017 – Final program released;
• July 1-2, 2017 – Workshop prior to the ICC 2017.

References

Davidson J, Smith M and Bondi L (2007) Emotional Geographies, Hampshire, UK: Ashgate Publishing. Fabrikant SI, Christophe S, Papastefanou G and Maggi S (2012) Emotional response to map design aesthetics. In: GIScience 2012: Seventh International Conference on Geographic Information Science, Columbus, Ohio, 18–21 September. Available at:http://www.zora.uzh.ch/71701/1/2012_FabrikantS_giscience2012_paper_64.pdf

Griffin AL and McQuoid J (2012) At the Intersection of Maps and Emotion: The Challenge of Spatially Representing Experience. Kartographische Nachrichten, 62(6), 291–299.

Hauthal E and Burghardt D (2013) Detection, Analysis and Visualisation of Georeferenced Emotions. InProceedings of The International Cartographic Conference 2013. Dresden (Germany): International Cartographic Association, 25-30 August 2013.

Klettner S, Huang H, Schmidt M and Gartner G (2013) Crowdsourcing affective responses to space.Kartographische Nachrichten 2(3): 66–72.

Littman A (2012) Re-thinking/ Re-creating a different Cartography. ETH Zurich, Available from: http://cartonarratives.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/littman_proposal.doc

Muehlenhaus I (2012) If Looks Could Kill: The Impact of Different Rhetorical Styles on Persuasive Geocommunication. The Cartographic Journal 49(4), 361–375.

Nold C (2009) Emotional cartography. Technologies of the Self. Available from: www.emotionalcartography.net. Thien D (2005) After or beyond feeling? A consideration of affect and emotion in geography. Area, 37(4)

Cinema as Deep Map: Patience (After Sebald) and cinematic cartography

Screenshot from documentary by Grant Gee (2011)

“Mapping Out Patience: Cinema, Cartography and W.G. Sebald,” an essay by Taien Ng-Chan, was first presented at the 26^th International Cartographic Conference in Dresden, Germany, in 2013, and was published recently in the journal Humanities, in a special “Deep Mapping” issue edited by Les Roberts. As described in the abstract: “cinematic cartography can be an especially powerful tool for deep mapping, as it can convey the narratives, emotions, memories and histories, as well as the locations and geography that are associated with a place. This is evident in the documentary film Patience (After Sebald) by Grant Gee, which follows in the footsteps of W.G. Sebald and his walking tour of Suffolk, England, as described in his book The Rings of Saturn. A variety of strategies in cinematic cartography are used quite consciously in Gee’s exploration of space, place and story.” It can be downloaded at http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/4/4/554

Other papers in this very interesting special issue include “Mapping Deeply” by Denis Wood, “The Rhythm of Non-Places: Marooning the Embodied Self in Depthless Space” by Les Roberts, and “Regular Routes: Deep Mapping a Performative Counterpractice for the Daily Commute” by Laura Bissell and David Overend. Full details are here: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/humanities/special_issues/DeepMapping