At the limits of critical geography: Creative interventions into the exclusionary spaces of U.S. geography

Abstract

In recent years, geographers have increasingly called for and enacted more sustained engagements between geography and the arts. This creative (re)turn represents both a renewed interest in recovering interdisciplinary practices within the history of the discipline and a desire to create space for new methods and creative approaches. This article develops in response to two areas requiring further critical engagement and development within the creative (re)turn: questions about the place of identity in creative geographies and the potential for creative geographies to perform critical interventions into disciplinary spaces and identities. I explore and develop these areas of concern alongside a discussion of a critical-creative geographies exhibit, The Critical Futures Visual Archive. Through a presentation of select works in this collection and a candid discussion of the institutional obstacles encountered in curating it, I elaborate upon the challenges and critical potentials of integrating creative practices into geography as a form of feminist praxis.

Keywords:

• archive
• art
• creative geographies
• creative (re)turn
• curation
• feminist praxis

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank numerous colleagues who offered feedback and support for publishing this article: Sara Cavallo, Aparna Parikh, Lauren Fritzsche, Hilary Malatino, Lise Nelson, Kelsey Brain, and Harriet Hawkins. Thanks to Kristina Davis, Ciara Newton, and Joe Mcmahon for contributing their work and input. The editor and three anonymous reviewers also provided key insights and support in writing this article. Thanks to all the folks involved in the art show for participating in difficult discussions and allowing me to see it through, despite the uncertainty. And finally, deep gratitude to Minelle Mahtani for reminding me what it is to find one’s voice and speak with conviction.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The author was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship at the time of writing this article. The conference described was supported by the PSU Dept. of Geography.

Notes on contributors

Eden Kinkaid

Eden Kinkaid is a PhD student in the University of Arizona's School of Geography and Development. Drawing from political ecology, science and technology studies, agri-food studies, and South Asia studies, Eden's dissertation examines the differentiated landscape of organic certification in north India and its impacts on farmers' knowledge and practice. Alongside this work, Eden pursues multiple other intellectual interests, including creative geographies, critical phenomenology, assemblage thinking, feminist theory and queer theory. Eden's work has been published in Progress in Human Geography, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, cultural geographies, GeoHumanities, Geographical Review, and other fora.