1. SCHOOL OF GEOGRAPHY, COURSEWORK SUBMISSION
Please complete the following table in full
Student number (9 digits) 150739850
Module code and title GEG7122 – Cultural Geography in Practice
Submission deadline date 16th
November 2015
Coursework title What are the rewards and challenges of pursuing creative
public geographies?
Total number of words 2044
I declare that this coursework is entirelymy own work and
contains no instances of plagiarism
x
Put ‘x’ in box
(left) to confirm

2. What are the rewards and challenges of
pursuing creative public geographies?
Since the millennium there has beenan increased interest in creative
public geographies both within and outside of the geographic
community. Cultural geographers beganto search for, as Thrift
describesit, "new methods to co-produce the world" in reaction to the
scientific rationale of the socialscience turn in geography (Nash, 2013).
Cultural geographers beganto feel the need for a new, innovative and
engaging way to disseminate knowledge and also by using this creativity
as a means to revise and re-establish existing ideas. It is the practice of
these art forms as well as the knowledge they are writing that cultural
geographers are preoccupiedwith. This branch of cultural geography
has limitations mainly due to its form.Because of its unconventional
mode,creative public geographywork tends to be seen as just a
novelty. Many projects are just one off collaborations.Within the
academic community visual art and non representational theory
performance cannot be assessedas academic work. Its impact is less
tangible than text. This leads to the question "why even attempt it at
all?". By employing these methods,geographicalknowledge is being
presented to the public more so than traditional modes of research. It is
a more inclusive means of sharing information. This branch of
geographynot only means to documentbut also to change
preconceivednotions on ideas such as space,place, landscape, identity
and the city (Nash, 2000).This essaywill discuss the challenges faced

3. when pursuing creative public geographies and then the rewards and
benefits of collaborative artistic projects.
In venturing into artistic practices within the schoolof geography certain
challenges and limitations arise that would not occur within more
traditional means of academic work. Collaboration between academics
and institutions, artists, the public and other scholars can create
complications. When working with institutions such as galleries or
museums,researchers have less input and control over what is being
presented and how. Curators within the institution dictate what is
included to ensure an aesthetically pleasing exhibition. These institutions
have certain standards and ideas about how they want to
be perceived by the art/museum community and also by the public.
Academic researchthat is presented in these locations is heavily
controlled by the institution that will be exhibiting them.
Stephen Daniels' collaborative exhibition "The garden in winter" shows
how the institution the research is being held in can be challenging for
the researcher in terms of control of display (Daniels, 2005). While
the exhibition was in the Tate Britain he worked closelywith the curators
of the museum. When the exhibition moved to the Ulster Museum it was
installed by the curators there. For StephenDaniels this was testing as
the themes, ideas and impact of the exhibition had beenaltered due to
the layout in the museum and also the geographicallocation.
Compromisesmust be made on both sides but ultimately it is the
institution that has final say. Site specific exhibitions or other creative
practices such as theatre performancesmay experience difficulties when
the piece is moved from the location it was created in. "Nanay (Mother):
a testimonial play" was a collaborative performance installation created

4. by Caleb Johnston and Geraldine Pratt in collaboration with the
Philippine Womenof Centre of BC (Johnston and Pratt, 2010). The
piece was extremely site specific not only in geographical location (the
plays content focuses on Filipino female domestic workers in Canada)
but also in regards to the physical space in which the play was
performed.The play was restaged in Berlin along with other pieces that
centred around the theme of care and the "global care chain". As the
play deals with an issue that would be more relevant to a Canadian
audience, one can imagine that the impact of the productionmay not
have beenas strong as when it was originally performed. Whena play is
restaged the new directors and actors have a massive impact on the
meaning of the piece and also the impact it has on the audience. In this
sense,it can be frustrating to the researchers and collaborators of a
certain projectfor the original meaning to be obscured.
The lack of control of work is high in creative public geographies. When
participating in these there are also practical limits that need to be
addressed.Budgets and time constraints using mediums such as film
become muchmore taxing as the planning and allowances for other
people'sschedulesis necessary. Filming interviews or footage of the
physical environment is unstable and makes it difficultto obtain the
information needed in that time schedule (Gandy, 2009).Collaborations
can leave researchers open interruptions that they may not be subjectto
in established academic work. This may not be seen as a negative
because disruptions from an outside party can lead to new ideas being
produced and disseminated to a greater audience. Flexibility is
paramount when attempting these projects and it may cause better
results than pre-empted.During Matthew Gandy's filming in Mumbai for
his documentary "Liquid City" his crew and himself discovered

5. maintenance workers that they could interview on location which added
to the multi voiced narration of the film.
Collaborative creative projects aim to break down preconceived
relationship dynamics between academic and the research subjects and
allow for the subjects to be represented in differentand more suitable
way. But this can also lead to the social inequalities being reinforced.
Hester Parr explains in her article by using her connections within the
academic community to help create a greater interested audience for her
collaborative project confirmed the social difference betweenthe
partners of the project.(Parr, 2007).This may hinder future projects and
affectthis relationship which creative public geographies is trying to
change,
The funding here is highly competitive and mainly geared towards once
off assignments,discouraging cultivation of relationships between artists
and scholars. This area of cultural geography is a small but new area
within geographyand the competitionis high between projects.When
proposing a project,an impact objective is necessaryand with
qualitative research it is difficult to measure the impact a projectwill
make on its intended audience.
Using experimental artistic mediums in geographicalresearch opens up
the discipline to new means of expressionof knowledge but also creates
some restrictions (Foster and Lorimer, 2007).When using artistic means
one envisions it as an open discourse ofideas,however, most creative
products are still constructed.In addition to this, competency of visual
discourseshas less kudos that text or narrative. (Fosterand Lorimer,
2007)But if we look at the practice of these artistic means rather than

6. the end product, just as much information comes to light. It is this
practice that the cultural geography community has begun to look at and
use more routinely. In Hester Parr's project it is in the "doing" of the film
making that she notices insights to the subjects.Collaborative film
making projects allow for communities who are marginalised to have
control over their representation.
Collaboration is vital in the work of creative public geographies.
It illuminates hidden information, allows for a fuller investigation of a
subjectand also a new medium to articulate the knowledge (Fosterand
Lorimer, 2007).To completelyunderstand a topic, diverse perspectives
are needed.When academics and artists come togetherto investigate a
theme both parties have an interest in it allows for critical analysis and
interpretation of both disciplines and gives way to new spaces for
conversation. The visual arts connect with the audience's senses which
are not disciplined and must not be dismissed just because they are not
tangible (Fosterand Lorimer, 2007).
Artistic collaborations not only permit novel ways of writing information
but also bring academic knowledge to a broader audience. Traditional
academic research that is published in a journal is very exclusive; one
can access this information if they are affiliated with an institution. When
work is presented in exhibitions or as a performance the public are
invited to view this information. Collaboration is beneficial not only for the
academics but also for the artists and institutions. It gives them a chance
to interact with geographic ideas and to learn new skills.
To use creative methods is to question and revise conventional thought.
Experimental art projects can destabilize established views and explores

7. what other views there are. (Pinder, 2005)Pinder argues that
"ambulatory occupation of urban space" allows numerous possibilities to
become clear.The practice of walking and experimental artistic
explorations in a city is critical in studying urban spaces.
It creates opportunities for interactions with everyday objects and
activities that may be usually overlooked.The city is a complexand
diverse space and the geographicalcommunity has adopted creative
means as a way to write these complexities. Experimental urban
explorations “searchfor new ways of apprehending our urban
environment" (Coverley, 2010).The Situationsit International realized the
potential of creative walks through the urban environment as a means to
"overthrow and replace the predominantly bourgeois nature of western
society" (Coverley, 2010). Academics are now studying and working with
artistic walking projects that have the similar political spirit to contest the
status quo rather than just write the world.
By using creative methods and collaboration, cultural geographers have
begun contesting and interrogating ideas and creating new and
fascinating work (Hawkins, 2010).This new section of geography has
created an experimental space to research more deeply into specific
subjects (Parr, 2007).Hester Parr's collaborative research project
highlights how these creative public geographies can interrogate the
topic of the arts and mental health even more so than before.By using
participatory film making the relationship between researcher and
subjectis a more comfortable one and closes the distance between the
two. The participants of the project had more control of the situation.
Using a visual medium to depictmembers of a community who are not
as visible makes more of a statement than perhaps a conventional
interview would. Similarly to Hester Parr's work, Heidi J. Nast's exhibition

8. "Disrupting perceptions" sought to challenge false impressions in the
USA about ideas of slavery globally. Drawing upon her research on royal
wives and concubines in the palaces of WestAfrica, Nast created an
exhibit to illustrate how slavery is differentoutside of the US and it does
not hold the same connotations. The exhibition allowed her audience to
discoverfor themselves how slavery is revered in other corners of the
world.
To conclude,there are many points to considerwhen attempting joint
work with a collaboratorfrom outside your discipline.Tensions between
members on both sides lead to compromises which is not something to
contemplate when writing up a paper for a journal. When doing
conventional academic work, the author has a lot of control on the work
and has the rights to intellectual property. Comparing this to
collaborative creative work, the propertyrights issue is one that is to be
considered.As discussed,this branch of cultural geographyintends on
dismantling preconceived notions of how researchshould be conducted.
However, by using one's standing in the academic community can
reassert the hierarchical differencesbetweenthe academic and the
subject. This niche of innovative geographyis very competitive due to
the small amount of researchers attempting it and also as it does not
hold as much gravitas as conventional academic work. It is difficultto get
enough funding. These are a few of the limitations that need to be
considered and addressed.The rewards and values of creative public
geographies are much more exciting and innovative than other modes of
research. Working with members of other disciplines and institutions
gives a more rounded vision of a topic. Having this close working
relationship with a subjective personallows for critical analysis for the
academics own work and vice verse. The use of creative arts in

9. geographicalresearch lets geographers interrogate long established
ideas, dismantle them and illuminate the audience to unseen/overlooked
ones. Finally, being creative is fun. It is a new means of expressionin an
academic setting. Using art as a way to disseminate your research gives
the author a sense of achievement perhaps more so than writing a
journal article. It appeals to a greater audience because people enjoy
art.

10. Bibliography
 Coverley, Merlin. Psychogeography. Harpenden, Herts: Pocket
Essentials, 2010. Print.
 Daniels, Stephen. 'The Garden in winter'. CulturalGeographies 12.3
(2005): 366-370. Web.
 Foster, K., and H. Lorimer. 'Cultural Geographies In Practice: Some
Reflections On Art-Geography As Collaboration'. Cultural
Geographies14.3 (2007): 425-432. Web.
 Gandy, M. 'Liquid City: Reflections On Making A Film'. Cultural
Geographies16.3 (2009): 403-408. Web.
 Hawkins, Harriet. 'Turn Your Trash Into… Rubbish, Art And Politics.
Richard Wentworth's Geographical Imagination'. Social & Cultural
Geography11.8 (2010): 805-827. Web.
 Johnston, C., and G. Pratt. 'Nanay (Mother): A Testimonial
Play'. CulturalGeographies17.1 (2010): 123-133. Web.
 Nash, C. 'Progress Reports, Performativity In Practice: Some Recent
Work In Cultural Geography'. Progress in Hum Geography 24.4 (2000):
653-664. Web.
 Nash, Catherine. 'Cultural Geography In Practice'. TheWiley-Blackwell
Companion to CulturalGeography 1 (2013): 45-56. Print.
 Nast, Heidi J. 'Representing Possibilities: The Dusable Museum Meets
The Kano Palace'. CulturalGeographies 12.1 (2005): 89-101. Web.
 Parr, H. 'Collaborative Film-Making As Process,Method And Text In
Mental Health Research'. CulturalGeographies 14.1 (2007): 114-138.
Web.
 Pinder, David. 'Arts Of Urban Exploration'. CulturalGeographies 12.4
(2005): 383-411. Web.