I attended csv,conf,v8 in Puebla, Mexico, where I presented a talk on creative approaches to data representation that are more appropriately designed for social justice movemements. This connects to idea in my forthcoming book on “Community Data”. The group was an incredibly kind and welcoming mix of data scientists, data visualization experts, journalists, activists, academics, and more. Watch a video of the talk.
All the attendees say “hi!” 👋🏽
I presented my work on creative data representation approaches for social justice movements. Now-traditional data visualization practices are often rooted in cultures of surveillance, formalism, capitalism, and authority - epistemological frameworks that can conflict with the needs and values of community-based social justice work.
I shared several inspiring alternative examples that demonstrate what’s possible when we embrace what Turkle and Papert call “epistemological pluralism” - accepting multiple ways of knowing things. Drawing on Heron and Reason’s extended epistemology framework, I discussed how we can move beyond just propositional knowledge to incorporate experiential, practical, and presentational ways of knowing in our data work.
My own approaches to community-centered data representation try to put those theories into practice, from data murals, to data sculptures, to data theater. These creative methods aim to empower communities with information while respecting their own ways of knowing and sharing knowledge. These will be major themes of my forthcoming book, “Community Data”.
