Illustrating Fuego: the particular challenges and richness of using arts-based participatory methods to communicate experiences of volcanic disaster.

Abstract

Although disasters disproportionately affect vulnerable people, their experiences often go untold. Disaster researchers increasingly use participatory research methods to recognize and amplify these missing voices. Arts-based participatory methods promise both empowerment for local people and opportunity for researchers to work creatively and reflexively. They also present challenges of participation and representation. This paper describes the process of co-producing a "zine" describing local people's experiences of eruptions of Fuego volcano (Guatemala) and the impacts of these eruptions that caused disaster. The zine is narrated by local people and is illustrated by the researcher (me) who conducted semi-structured interviews of residents to better understand their experiences. The motivations for this project are explored together with lessons learned in turning participatory research design into practice. Taking a constructively critical perspective on my process, I document challenges I encountered in community participation and representation and discuss how they may be addressed in project design and execution. I also describe the tensions and value in occupying both researcher and artist roles. This paper describes an open method of research exploration where the opportunities and limitations of visual representation to contribute to shared and widening understandings of volcanic disaster experience is documented and reflected upon.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13617-025-00149-0.