Community and/in Collaboration: Exploring Cultural Mediation and Spatial Research

As Anthropology encounters a world increasingly shaped by mediated exchanges across diverse physical and cultural spaces, researchers are called to innovate methods that engage more dynamically with the communities they study and work with. This masterclass invites participants to explore how contemporary ethnographic practices can harness the potential of spatial analysis and transmedia work to deepen our understanding of social phenomena and better support community-driven processes.

Our guiding question will be: How can we develop ethnographic methods that work in tandem with public audiences to build collective insights and promote social justice? In a two-day program, participants will examine the potential of ethnographic work that engages publics and stakeholders through different case studies, focusing on how cultural mediation and critical spatial practices can redefine research approaches.

This masterclass combines conceptual discussions with hands-on activities, offering participants the time to explore tools that integrate diverse methodologies to enhance collaborative and participatory approaches to their projects. Some of the methods that will be presented and practiced include: social cartography, body mapping, sensorial ethnography, curatorial practice and cultural mediation, community archives and anarchivism, popular pedagogies, amongst others. No previous experience with the methods or the topics is required to participate fully in this masterclass.  

Key topics include:

• Critical Mapping Practices
• Feminist Methodologies
• Transmedia Narratives
• Cultural Mediation and Curatorial Practices
• Spatial Justice and Social Change

Access:

If you have questions of accessibility to this masterclass, please contact Luciana at luciana@espacial.coop. We will do our best to accommodate any needs. 

Language:

This masterclass will be imparted in English. 

Luciana Serrano (b.1988, Buenos Aires) is a practice-based-researcher living in Argentina. Her expanded practice involves community-led research, interdisciplinary projects and cultural management with a focus on spatial justice. Her recent work explores critical spatial practices focusing on memory, identity and belonging connected to the material realm. These initiatives have been found of value in spaces such as popular education projects, academic conferences, human rights initiatives, art residencies, and policy design and evaluation. Luciana has been a guest lecturer in Argentina at Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Universidad Nacional de las Artes, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Profesorado Popular de Historia Osvaldo Bayer, and internationally in Universidad de la República, Leeds University, School for International Training, amongst others. Luciana also was a 2023 Fellow at the  Institute for Critical Social Inquiry at the New School, and participated in art residencies in Brazil, Chile and Argentina. Her consultancy work, commissions, publications and collaborations include projects with Virginia Tech University, the National Ministry of Culture of Argentina, Tierra Narrative Collective, Arena Documenta, FAN digital magazine (Fantasías Arquitectónicas Nerviosas), Centro Cultural Kirchner, World Learning, the Direction of Creative Industries of the City of Buenos Aires, Embassy of France in Argentina, Contested Territories, Nuevo Oro magazine, Bienal Arte Joven Buenos Aires, and Curatoría Forense. She has been the editor of PURGA magazine, a member of Ciudad del Deseo feminist urbanism collective, and is currently the President of the Cooperativa Espacial work coop. Luciana’s training includes a background in Socio-Cultural Anthropology, Experiential Learning, and Transmedia Narratives. 

More info:

luserrano.com

espacial.coop