Queering cartographic epistemologies through arts-based and multi-sensory participatory mapping methods

Creating counter cartographies of queer Manchester

This PhD project seeks to explore new ways of mapping queer space, through a number of mapping workshops, zine workshops, and the creation of a sound map of queer Manchester. Grounded in creative encounters with practice, I bring conceptual work from the field of queer geography into dialogue with critical cartography methodologies to generate a set of creative mapping methods. This methodology builds on my master's dissertation project, which examined how participatory arts-based mapping workshops can generate more meaningful representations of queer space, as well as make mapping a more accessible and enjoyable practice.

Research Context My thesis delivers an original contribution to both queer geography - geographical scholarship that deconstructs heteronormativity and acknowledges the fluidity of gender - and critical cartography - an approach which challenges the idea that maps are neutral scientific documents. While "accurate" maps may be useful for navigation, critical cartographers have pointed out that the lack of space for contradiction or ambivalence gives mapmakers much less freedom over the kind of maps they can make. These standards also restrict the practice of cartography to those who have access to the technology and knowledge necessary to make "accurate" maps.

However, activists, artists and academics have advocated for new ways of mapping that allow for more imaginative representations of space. Many of these approaches abandon the need for geographic accuracy and involve collaborating directly with participants in the production of new maps. This movement has coincided with an increasing interest in the idea of mapping queer experiences, undoubtedly invigorated by the creation of the community-generated mapping project Queering the Map.

Inspired by these new mapping methods and the insurgence of queer mapping, this project will examine how arts-based and multi-sensory mapping can be used to layer different ways of articulating queer space, including but beyond visualisation.

Research Questions Three research questions underpin this project: 1. How useful are creative cartographic methods in improving participation in queer geography research? 2. What queer geographies are illustrated through multi-sensory mapping methods in Manchester? 3. What implications do these methods have for cartographic knowledge production?

Methodology Much of the current critical cartography scholarship uses digital mapping, which often relies on technologies that require facilitation - hindering its participatory potential. Furthermore, not everyone can experience space as a visual phenomenon, and those who cannot are often excluded from mapping research. Instead, I aim to utilise more democratic and accessible methods designed both by and for the needs of participants. Specifically, my proposed methodology blends ethnographic, auto-ethnographic, textual and creative approaches, underpinned by a commitment to making things rather than simply documenting them.

I will hold a number of zine-making workshops on the topic of queer mapping, in order to gain a better understanding of queer experiences in Manchester and to learn what "mapping" means to participants. I will then facilitate five mapping workshops, where participants make their own non-digital queer map of Manchester using creative techniques such as collage, drawing, or building models. Simultaneously, I will ask LGBTQ+ people in Manchester to record soundscapes, to create a collaborative queer sound map of the city. I will also create a website and social media accounts to provide information on workshops and events, and blog posts with updates and reflections. I will share the maps and zines created throughout the project, with the informed consent of participants, in order to directly involve the queer community in the ownership and dissemination of their maps.