I am astonished and delighted that feedback from last year’s International Creative Research Methods Conference is still coming in. Recently I found out that Lucy Robinson from Oxford University, who attended last year’s conference, published a review of the event in the most recent issue of the British Psychological Society’s Qualitative Methods in Psychology (QMiP) Bulletin. Unfortunately, it is paywalled but I was able to get hold of a copy. Lucy said ‘the hardest part was deciding what to attend’ (which chimed with feedback I was given at the event) and that it was ‘difficult to choose a highlight’. She also said: 

Ultimately, Helen’s goal for the conference was to ‘bring together the global CRM community to share knowledge, promote understanding, enable networking and have fun!’ (Kara, 2023, taken from the conference programme). From my perspective, something she achieved wholeheartedly.

I’m not just picking out the good bits to share with you, because Lucy’s review was entirely positive, as was almost all of the feedback we have received. There was a little helpful constructive criticism, most of which we have been able to implement this year, and other than that it was compliments all the way. But don’t take my word for it, check out these tweets: 

The effects of the #ICRMC still reverberate in me. After 2 days of generosity, talent and inspiration, I feel more confident (and accompanied) to envision another kind of academia: more creative, human, and anti-colonia❤️🙏🏾@DrHelenKara @CarolineLenette @MaresiaSilvia @elenam pic.twitter.com/vTHvZdcRWO

— Irene Gutierrez (@border_diaries) September 14, 2023

This app has posted all my tweets (xs?) out of order but the first one w should read that I went to the #ICRMC conf organised by @DrHelenKara & didn’t know what to except. I was looking for inspo & a way to love research again & I got so much more than I could’ve imagined!

— Amelia Wood (@AmeliaMight) September 13, 2023

An inaugural creative methods conference #ICRMC initiated and beautifully (generously!) produced by @DrHelenKara was inspiring. It also yielded colourful and thought provoking ephemera to mull over the morning after. I'm grateful to Helen, all the presenters, and new colleagues! pic.twitter.com/3MCUfeCEcn

— Lois Klassen (@loiszing) September 13, 2023

Wonderstruck after two days at the #ICRMC. Standout sessions for me were @dawn_wink’s on Transdisciplinary Research (the Lilyology framework is 🙌) and @ncjbrown’s on Embodied Inquiry. Many more fantastic talks/moments including the keynotes and conversations in between (1/2) pic.twitter.com/TD8waP1nKa

— Daniel Mutanda (@DanielMutanda_) September 12, 2023

What an unbelievable two days, such amazing talks and even more amazing people, I've never met a group who have been more inclusive and welcoming to beginning researchers like myself! Can't wait for the next one! #ICRMC #ICRM @dawn_wink @DrHelenKara @fe_researcher @jess_mannion pic.twitter.com/MzGgbhxy0H

— Patricia (@triciablee) September 12, 2023

None of those are from people in my own networks, they are all from people I hadn’t met in person or online before the conference. And there were lots more – search #ICRMC on the socials to find them. 

Then, even more recently, I heard from Heather Bullen that #ICRMC23 was featured in the Actual News! Not the national news, but the Liverpool Echo, which reported on a project that was conceived at last year’s conference. The project involved women refugees and asylum-seekers, and used trauma-informed zine-making to explore ways to build resilience and move beyond trauma. The report is very favourable, with women commenting that the project helped them to ‘learn to live again’, ‘find peace’, and ‘get hope’. It is lovely to know that a presentation and connection at #ICRMC23 led to such a positive impact. 

Perhaps this is part of the reason we have already sold over half of the in-person tickets for this year’s conference. So, if you haven’t booked yet and you want to come in person, it would be worth doing so soon, to ensure you don’t miss out. There is also an online conference with two streams this year – we only had one stream online in 2023, having two streams this year is partly due to feedback received last year. The programmes and all the information you need to book your place are here. See you in September!