Visual Literacy and Research-Creation: Toward a Configurative Paradigm of Knowledge

LIVESTREAM KEYNOTE - MARK YOUR CALENDAR
​THIS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2025 at 11:00 AM
​(US CENTRAL TIME) (UTC -5)

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Melissa Ballesteros-Mejía is a Colombian researcher, educator, and product designer with a PhD in Economics and Business. Her interdisciplinary work explores the intersections between visual communication, research-creation, and knowledge transfer, with a strong emphasis on how images contribute to learning, critical thinking, and innovation across diverse contexts. She is an Associate Professor at Universidad El Bosque and director of the Design, Image and Communication research group, where she leads projects that integrate visual literacy, participatory methodologies, and intercultural approaches to foster collaborative knowledge production. Melissa advocates for recognizing visual and creative forms of inquiry within academic research systems and promotes visual literacy as a catalyst for educational transformation and social engagement.

ABOUT THE TALK

This conversation proposes that research-creation enables the emergence of a configurative paradigm of knowledge—one that remains under-recognized within traditional research frameworks. Unlike descriptive or explanatory paradigms, the configurative paradigm does not aim to represent or decode reality, but to intervene in it through visual, material, and sensorial composition. From this perspective, the image is not merely a tool for communication or illustration, but an active agent in the configuration of meaning and in the transformation of what is being explored. Drawing from my recent work on visual-based methods and visual literacy, and in dialogue with interdisciplinary approaches, I will reflect on how practices involving the visual allow us not only to produce knowledge but to inhabit, embody, and reshape it through the senses. Visual literacy thus emerges as a critical and creative path for exploring and transforming the world through what we choose to make visible.

Register for IVLA 2025 in Aguascalientes, Mexico

REGISTRATION

IVLA 2025: Aguascalientes, Mexico

DATES​
Join us for the 57th Annual Conference of the International Visual Literacy Association, set to be held in person from October 31 - November 2.

CONFERENCE HOST AND THEME:
​This year’s conference, hosted by The Autonomous University of Aguascalientes, revolves around the theme “The Power of Images in Sacred and Festive Spaces.”

REGISTRATION OPTIONS:

• Regular member: $400
• Regular non-member: $475

SESSION SCHEDULE

We've accepted some great proposals for this year's conference. Take a look at the complete schedule here.

TRAVEL AND HOTEL INFORMATION:
Visit the official conference page for expanded information on this year's conference, including conference rates on local hotels and travel advisories.

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