Mapping Imaginaries

Mapping Imaginaries: Notes from a map collage workshop and exhibition was a talk presented at the American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California on March 21, 2026.

ABSTRACT

Maps abstract and simplify reality; collage invites participants to explore and challenge that assumed reality. This talk shares observations and reflections from an extracurricular map collage workshop and exhibition that used collage as a method to introduce critical cartography and expand participants’ visual spatial vocabulary. Workshop participants shared insights into their feelings, perceptions, and understandings of place by reducing maps to their symbolic elements, removing the original context, reassembling elements into new configurations, and then writing artist statements about their map collages. Freed from the constraints of traditional cartography, all of the map collages disregarded conventions, with some subverting dominant narratives, and others commenting on political issues. Paired with artist statements, their collages illuminated the relationship between mental mapping and cartography, offering insights into how each influences the other. 

Presentation

Shared at the American Association of Geographers 2026 Annual Meeting. Speaker notes are included in the slide deck.