A few of the things I took away from the conference that I think would be relevant to my research. I was struck by the notion of diffraction, how art works work in relation to each other, like ripples, each distinct but affecting and being affected by its position in relation to others. I was also drawn to the idea of dialogue as a reflective method, I think this is something I can apply to my own practice – extending the notion of sharing and making it more of a conversation than just receiving and transmitting. I was also interested in Tim’s approach to his research, how narrative is shaped in different sources, the task of sifting through the data to find what is relevant, problems of stripping context from the sources and the circularity of process – how the interpretation becomes new data (feedback loops).

For me, the main takeaway from the conference was the position of the researcher. Understanding where you are and how that will inevitably result in bias. I think this is clearly more of an issue for some researchers but, as my research is based in my practice it is clearly a personal position. Either way, I think provided you make your position explicit, bias can be highlighted and justified.