Data Theatre as Input Visualization: Building Community Voice and Cohesion

Splash title for the paper, including the title and authors, on a hand-drawn map background of Chelsea, MA
Header, overlaid on a hand-drawn participatory map of Chelsea, MA from the data theatre workshop
Abstract
Embodied input visualization through "data theatre" is a novel community engagement practice that prioritizes collective sense-making and inclusion while producing data. This case study presents a civic data theatre workshop conducted with a multigenerational participant group in collaboration with a Latinx community service organization. Through hand polls, human spectrums, embodied mapping, and image theatre, the workshop engaged participants with self-assessed low data literacy in generative analysis and deliberative conversation about local flooding. Our preliminary findings indicate that embodied input visualizations were readily adopted by communities, contributed to inclusive civic data practices, and opened opportunities to engage participants in physical, spatial, and embodied input methods. If integrated into community data processes, these methods may create pathways to increasing community agency and reinforcing social connectivity while simultaneously visualizing, producing, and making sense of data.
Materials
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Authors
Rahul Bhargava
Laura J. Perovich
Dani Snyder-Young
Alayt Issak
Michael Arnold Mages
Moira Zellner
Dean Massey
Geneliz Herrera
Citation
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Data Theatre as Input Visualization: Building Community Voice and Cohesion

Rahul Bhargava, Sydney Purdue, Laura J. Perovich, Dani Snyder-Young, Alayt Issak, Michael Arnold Mages, Moira Zellner, Dean Massey, and Geneliz Herrera. Input Visualization Workshop at IEEE VIS. 2025. DOI: https://osf.io/xpqcf/overview

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