The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), in collaboration with Nelson Mandela University (NMU), invites you to a webinar on the use of digital collage as a visual participatory method in research.

Digital collage is an innovative and creative approach to data collection, analysis, and knowledge production, which enables participants to express personal experiences, emotions, and ideas through collaborative digital art-making.

Some people find it hard to talk about complex feelings or experiences, such as cultural identity, trauma, belonging or social exclusion, through conventional interviews alone.

In digital collage research, participants respond to a theme or prompt by using computers or tablets to cut, paste, and layer digital images, photos, and text into a single picture, a collage.

These collages often reveal deeper emotions, meanings, and perspectives that traditional interviews may not capture. The artworks can then serve as a basis for further reflection, dialogue, and interpretation between researchers and participants.

This webinar forms part of the HSRC’s Clarifying the Role of Engaged Research in Higher Education webinar series, which focuses on transforming research practices and strengthening the societal impact of research.

The session will create a transdisciplinary and intergenerational platform where researchers and practitioners will demonstrate how digital collage can be applied across diverse contexts, highlighting its value in advancing engaged and socially responsive research.

Speakers:

• Dr Bruce Damons, Director: Engagement Office, NMU
• Dr Mandela Nelson, Post-doc: Placed in the Engagement Office at NMU 
• Dr Konosoang Sobane, Chief Research Specialist, HSRC

Date: Friday, 5 June 2026

Time: 12:30

Venue: Online via Zoom

Registration: Please click here to register

For more information, please contact Nonkululeko Dlamini at ndlamini@hsrc.ac.za