Object Mapping
Through “object elicitation”, facilitators encourage small groups of participants to locate their object in a diagrammatic landscape map, using local materials and a grid.
– Co-producing data
– Training facilitators
– Data standards
The starting point for these outdoor workshops is an object brought by each participant that holds a meaningful connection to the landscape. Through “object elicitation”, facilitators encourage small groups of participants to locate their object in a diagrammatic landscape map, this visual ethnography using local materials and a grid. Group reflections and discussions about the maps are then recorded on video. This innovative, visual method of collecting and recording data builds on my experience on the Coral Communities project.
Zanzibar workshop on Fundo Island with the Coral Communities team and Mwambao Coastal Community Network. Elder showing that the state of corn is vital to their future; they are farmers and fishers. Photograph Timur Jack-Kadioglu.
Ruritage: a pan European project
With support from the Ruritage project, I led workshops to create innovative object maps using a combination of geo-located data (locating a meaningful object on a map) and participants’ feelings and reflections on their local landscapes. Keen to replicate this visual method, I was subsequently asked to co-develop a toolkit for training facilitators that included a printed manual and a box of materials, such as rope, scissors, pens and tote bags. Facilitators could then run their own workshops, having learned how to collect visual data in a methodical and creative manner. They were also able to monitor how people felt about changes in the landscape, such as new pathways.
Tagscape workshop at the third edition of the International Summer School - Learning by Game Creation - organized by a Joint Project of the Politecnico di Torino and University of California, 1st to 8th September 2019, Torino.
Tagscape workshop at the third edition of the International Summer School - Learning by Game Creation - organized by a Joint Project of the Politecnico di Torino and University of California, 1st to 8th September 2019, Torino. Photograph Andy Hughes.
Tagscape workshop at the third edition of the International Summer School - Learning by Game Creation - organized by a Joint Project of the Politecnico di Torino and University of California, 1st to 8th September 2019, Torino. Photograph Andy Hughes.
An object that summed up what was important to a person about the ocean. Part of the Coral Communities workshop at the Society and the Sea Conference, Greenwich 2018. Photograph Andy Hughes.
An object 'buoy' mapped at the centre crossroads on a grid, showing it was important to person and their ocean. Part of the Coral Communities workshop at the Society and the Sea Conference, Greenwich 2018. Photograph Andy Hughes.
Objects mapped on a grid, showing why they were important to people and their ocean. Part of the Coral Communities workshop at the Society and the Sea Conference, Greenwich 2018. Photograph Andy Hughes.
Tagscape workshop at the the third edition of the International Summer School - Learning by Game Creation - organized by a Joint Project of the Politecnico di Torino and University of California, 1st to 8th September 2019, Torino. A mapped landscape - making an Object Map. Photograph Andy Hughes.
Tagscape workshop at the the third edition of the International Summer School - Learning by Game Creation - organized by a Joint Project of the Politecnico di Torino and University of California, 1st to 8th September 2019, Torino. A close up of a grid in the object map representing 'Sense of Place'. Photograph Andy Hughes.
Ruritage Crete Object Mapping workshop. Working with facilitators across Europe and the Crete landscape enabled co-development to build - the visual method Object Mapping became even richer in the way it worked with materials from the landscape and data. Photograph Dominica Williamson
Zanzibar workshop on Fundo Island with the Coral Communities team and Mwambao Coastal Community Network. The community and facilitators reviewing objects mapped into a resilience grid on the sand. Photograph Timur Jack-Kadioglu.
Zanzibar workshop on Fundo Island with the Coral Communities team and Mwambao Coastal Community Network. Objects mapped into a grid on the sand. Photograph Timur Jack-Kadioglu.
Zanzibar workshop on Fundo Island with the Coral Communities team and Mwambao Coastal Community Network. Elders talking about objects representing their ecological and social resilience, in this case male and female shells. Photograph Timur Jack-Kadioglu.