Desert Hydrologies: exploring water dialogues in the arid West through participatory photography
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Keywords: Participatory Photography, Photovoice, Geohumanities, Water Narratives, Water Dialogues, Water in the West
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract
Authors:
Hardt Bergmann, New Mexico State University
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Abstract
Much recent work in geography and human-environment research has turned toward collaborative, community-based methodologies designed to engage people in imagining and representing environmental presents and futures (Margulies 2019; Yusoff and Gabrys 2011). This presentation focuses on one such methodology: participatory photography. Also known as photovoice, participatory photography involves having members of a community take and submit photos representing their perspectives on a research topic. Between late October 2021 and the end of February 2022, I curated fifty-three photos taken by thirty-two Las Cruces, New Mexico community members depicting their relationships with and understandings of water in an arid landscape. The project, which culminated in a virtual exhibit called “Desert Hydrologies” (https://hardtb.wixsite.com/deserthydrologies), was an attempt to better understand water dialogues at a local scale and use visuality to highlight the ways people experience water in the arid West at a time when the region faces myriad environmental threats related to water scarcity. Through their photos, participants in the Desert Hydrologies project complicated broader dialogues around water in the West and offered nuanced interpretations of regional water narratives. While issues like representation and knowledge politics still pose challenges for participatory photography, the Desert Hydrologies project demonstrated the methodology’s ability to illuminate local experiences of environmental issues and foster community engagement in knowledge creation. At a time when many are looking for less extractive ways to conduct community-based research, it is important to explore and evaluate methodologies like participatory photography that aim to amplify community voices through creative expression.
Desert Hydrologies: exploring water dialogues in the arid West through participatory photography
Category
Paper Abstract