Graphic facilitation (or graphic recording as it is also referred to) is the art of capturing conversation in a visual way. As a facilitator, I listen to the contents of a discussion, lecture, workshop, panel, or meeting and illustrate notes pictorially as people speak, instantaneously creating a visual record of what was discussed. My illustrations sum up and give structure to the primary points of a discussion in a way that supports people to retain what they have learnt.
Being a graphic facilitator allows me to channel my passion for artistic expression into a practical learning tool. I came to the practice through my background in education and in illustration. From there starting to graphic record was a natural progression for me.
Drawing has been a consistent passion throughout my life, as I child I would get through reams of paper with my doodles. I’ve gone through patches of not being able to pick up a pencil, but it’s something that I always come home to. It’s through my scribbles that I have got to know myself, as tend to process things visually.
I have worked as a social action trainer for the past five years or so, skilling up social change groups and activists on how to campaign effectively. The activists I train are fighting against some of the most pressing issues of today, from deportations and detention, to NHS privatisation, to air quality. They are ambitious campaigners who advocate for their own communities and have direct experience of the issues they campaign on, so it’s imperative that my training approach is effective and adapts to a broad range of learning styles. This work got me thinking about how I could make training more accessible - I started to reflect on how visual and non-linear learners like me might better understand the content I had been delivering, and this began me on my graphic recording journey.
My graphic facilitation practice is firmly rooted in the politics of creative resistance. Being a black, lesbian woman who studied Art History, I have seen how the stories of groups that represent me are disappeared from history. Walk into any major museum or art gallery in London and it’s inevitable to see how dominant historical narratives are pale, stale and male. As marginalised people underrepresented in the mainstream, it’s vital that we document our conversations, as history is prone to erase them.
My work seeks to resist the whitewashing of our lived experiences. To quote the black lesbian poet Audre Lorde ‘If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive’.
My first piece of work was graphic recording for the 7th European Transgender Council; a three day conference attended by over 300 people and the largest gathering of political trans activists in Europe. The council functioned as a forum to set the agenda for trans politics and as a celebration of the trans community. I graphic recorded workshops and conversations on topics ranging from how to organise as trans people of colour; to reflecting on the struggles of transgender refugees; to discussions about sex work. Given the particularly hostile environment trans people are facing globally right now; from hateful transphobes hijacking Pride in London (despite Pride being created by trans women!) to violent backlash against a review of the Gender Recognition Act in the UK, hearing and documenting trans voices is as vital as ever.
As someone who values inclusive ways of training groups of people with an eye for aesthetics, I love being able to bring my artistic and facilitation skills together in a political way. This work embodies everything that is important to me. My ambition is to keep listening to great conversations and giving them tangible form, so society won’t let them slip away.