Gráinne Fay, University of Nottingham
GFGRG Travel Grant 2025 Recipient
Six months on from the RGS-IBG conference in Birmingham, I find myself reflecting on the experience, considering the moments of listening or conversing that have stayed with me since. Some of these moments have impacted my work in this time and others have probed my curiosity, providing me with a sense of inspiration for future projects. The theme of this year’s conference was ‘Geographies of creativity/creative geographies’ which proved exciting, insightful and generative.
Chairing a panel on new and emerging research on behalf of the GFGRG, I had the pleasure of listening to innovative research from a gendered perspective such as: the use of walking and storytelling to understand how women negotiate access and inclusion in the Scottish Highlands; women’ s experiences of using public transport in the Czech Republic and associated challenges during periods of menstruation; the impact of Le Corbusier’s Modular on the gendered design of French cities; and how the gendered production of urban space becomes increasingly nuanced from migrants’ perspective in Greece. Such research highlights how the concept of “gender” is explored within geographic research in radical and imaginative ways, to deliver nuanced perspectives of everyday gendered experiences and realities, from a number of regions. Later that evening, I was further inspired by the GFGRG social event which was a Black Heritage Walks tour of Birmingham. Marcia, our charismatic and knowledgeable leader, spoke about the achievements of the African Caribbean community in the U.K., as well as demonstrating the racialisation of history, evidenced in the occlusion of certain narratives. This event was a highlight for me across the conference as it enabled meaningful critical engagement with the impacts of structural racism – prevalent in the U.K. – enabling me to gain an embodied understanding of local place and community, outside the academy. This reminded me that while research and academic presentations are important, the relevance of such concepts to everyday experience can prove even more fruitful, to help us to engage with everyday structural racism and the parts we all play in its continued enactment, and crucially to work towards more equal livable lives for everyone.
These musings proved informative for my own research on air pollution and breathing in the Cambodian garment industry. From my participation and engagement at the conference I have been reflecting on creative geographies, specifically: how creative methods can foster inclusivity in geographic research; how can creativity subvert power structures between participants and researchers; and what are the challenges around centering creativity in scholarly work? From presenting at a panel and exhibiting the participant artworks from my own research I have gained critically constructive feedback that has already strengthened my own endeavours as a researcher. This has led me to question the politics of research, art production and exhibiting, to consider how and when these can be tools of empowerment versus extraction, something Professor Harriet Hawkins mentioned in her address on Friday. As I’m now in the third year of my PhD, writing about my fieldwork and considering the findings, the timing of the conference and the questions generated prove fruitful, if not invaluable for me going forward.
This was my second year at the RGS-IBG conference however, this year my attendance and participation was made possible by the Gender and Feminist Geographies Research Group travel grant. In an increasingly precarious and financially-pressed climate, travel grants from research groups ensure not just conference attendance for postgraduate and early-career researchers, but also the inclusion of narratives from researchers who are nascently trying to navigate the world of academia without stable funding. A huge thanks to the GFGRG for cultivating an inclusive research community by providing these opportunities.