Chris Meigh-Andrews

Jody Boehnert, Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Dr. Saba Hinrichs presenting some of the ideas developed in our discussions back to the main group

Thursday and Friday this week I attended a fascinating two-day conversational conference Making Visible the Invisible: Art, Design and Science in Data Visualisation, devised and hosted by Dr Michael Hohl at the School of Art, Design and Architecture at the University of Huddersfield. The format of this conference was  experimental,  attempting to try out the potential for a different model to the conventional conference format. Instead of the traditional presentation of papers, the participants were facilitated to engage in a series of conversations and discussions- sharing ideas, knowledge and learning through debate and group interaction. I found this format both demanding and rewarding as it gave me an opportunity to listen and engage with a wide range of individual researchers- scientists, artists and designers, all of whom shared a common set of interests and aspirations, and as a result it prompted me reflect on my own ideas and concerns from a fresh perspective.