OTHER CARTOGRAPHIES: PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP IN CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA, AUGUST 11, 2023. Organized by the International Cartographic Association’s Commission on Art and Cartography.
The goal of this workshop was to provide an intellectual and creative space to share different ideas around artistic methodologies of mapping and engaging with space and place, particularly those that challenge the status quo of capitalism, colonialism, extractive resource development (etc., the list is long) — experimental cartography practices through a lens of sustainability. The workshop was linked to the 31st International Cartographic Conference but open to all. The day’s presentations included:
Strata-Walking in Cape Town
The Strata-Walk is the Hamilton Perambulatory Unit’s framework of stratigraphic place-making and mapping. This experimental, emotional, ephemeral cartography relies on the body-as-sensor as well as on digital layers of locative information, city-image analysis, and participatory experimentation around how one experiences space.
Taien Ng-Chan is a writer, artist, and professor at York University’s Department of Cinema and Media Arts, whose research explores locative media art and interactive cinema. She is Chair of the ICA’s Commission on Art & Cartography, and one half of the artist research collective Hamilton Perambulatory Unit (with artist Donna Akrey).
Connection & Captivation, Sustainability & the Status Quo:
Might Musical Maps Move Us?
Music, accompanied by other sensory experiences, can have properties that give a particular pull and immediacy to spaces it evokes. This workshop will investigate music’s unique potential to heighten the impact of maps that explore often emotion-laden issues around environmental and cultural sustainability.
Darren Sears is a San Francisco-based artist-cartographer with a background in landscape architecture; he has a particular interest in describing and heightening the spatial experiences of natural environments. http://www.darrensears.com
AR Doodling Workshop
Seize is an Augmented Reality (AR) doodling game that was originally designed for players to visualize past experiences during the lockdown in Shanghai, China, within the current cityscape. The past bodily experiences are reawakened through the process of AR doodling in the game. We will experience and discuss how the mobile AR game can bring past bodily memories to the present in the urban landscape.
Haoran Chang is a Ph.D. student at York University Cinema and Media Studies. He is also a multimedia artist and researcher focusing on the liminal relationship between the virtual and reality. He is also the founder of the Mixed Reality collective Chameleon Gallery and the lead of two projects published on SteamVR. https://www.haoranchang.com/
Walking as Thinking – a litter(ary) response
This workshop is based on a series of artist’s books, which were created by the artist who walked the same route daily, documenting and then collecting white or black or coloured litter. The collected litter was further documented in the studio. This mapped the walk, through litter, and ‘cleaned’ the route thereby making a small impact on the environment. The workshop will consist of a 15-minute talk and a 45-minute walking re-enactment of the process in Cape Town.
Gordon Froud has been actively involved in the South African and international art world as artist, educator, curator and gallerist for more than 30 years. He graduated with a BA (FA) Hons from the University of Witwatersrand, and a master’s degree from the University of Johannesburg, where he heads the department as a senior lecturer. https://www.art.co.za/gordonfroud/
We packed so much into one day! We had four stimulating presentations about art-based approaches to mapping, and a lively group of participants. It was hands-on and really enriching. Thanks so much to everyone who joined us and helped to make it great! Check out some participant-created maps below.
