Talk Title: Community Data: Getting Data Off the Screen

Speaker: Rahul Bhargava, Leader of the Data Culture Group ; Assistant Professor in Journalism and Art + Design, Northeastern University

Location: HBK 2105 and Zoom

Abstract:  Datafication has driven the adoption of new quantified processes in civic contexts, but our tools and methods haven’t adapted to be more participatory and empowering. The traditional toolbox of surveys, spreadsheets, and charts wasn’t designed for community settings. Artists, planners, designers, non-profits, journalists, and others are pushing the boundaries of data representation in order to meet audiences where they are with impactful multi-sensory data stories. Physical data sculptures, embodied data theatre, participatory data murals, data sonification performance—these are the new practices we need to cultivate in order to engage larger groups of people around data in community settings. Join us to explore how we can hear, feel, smell, and taste our data to create more inclusive data experiences.

Bio:  Rahul Bhargava is an educator, designer, and artist working on creative data storytelling and computational journalism in support of social justice and community empowerment. He creates data murals and theatre with communities, award-winning museum exhibits, AI-powered civic technologies with CSOs, and delivers hands-on workshops and keynote talks across the globe. Rahul’s first book, “Community Data: Creative Approaches to Empowering People with Information,” is now available from Oxford University Press. He leads the Data Culture Group at Northeastern University as an Assistant Professor in Journalism and Art + Design.