The Global Consortium on Body Mapping in Research brings together an international network of scholars, researchers, and practitioners committed to advancing body mapping as a creative and rigorous research methodology.

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The Consortium is led by Professor Katherine Boydell, head of the award-winning Arts-Based Knowledge Translation Lab at the Black Dog Institute in Sydney, Australia. She also leads the Knowledge Translation Platform at Maridulu Budyari Gumal – the Sydney Partnership for Health Education, Research and Enterprise (SPHERE).

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Professor Boydell and her colleagues have been engaged in body mapping research for nearly a decade. Their work contributes to a growing global interest in using body mapping both to generate and to share knowledge across diverse disciplines and contexts.

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Body mapping is a contemplative and arts-based research method that involves tracing a life-sized outline of a person’s body and using drawing, painting, and text to reflect on and express lived experiences. It is a deeply personal and embodied process, frequently used in research related to mental health, trauma, identity, and social and environmental justice. Boydell is co-editor of the recent Routledge volume Body Mapping in Research: An Arts-Based Method, which showcases the versatility and depth of this approach.

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The Consortium’s primary aim is to foster the development, application, and impact of body mapping research worldwide. Its key objectives are to:

1. Facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange among those using body mapping in research and practice

2. Advance theoretical and methodological frameworks for body mapping as a credible and ethical research approach

3. Promote the dissemination of best practices and innovative uses of body mapping

4. Create a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue and cross-cultural exchange, supporting new and emerging applications of body mapping

 

The Consortium supports regular virtual meetings, collaborative research projects, workshops, and the development of joint publications and grant proposals. Plans are also underway for dedicated conferences focused on body mapping research.

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Researchers and practitioners working with body mapping are warmly invited to join the Consortium, contribute their expertise, and help shape the future of this impactful methodology.