In late March, the Law and the Humanities Map stepped off the screen and into the room for the first time. At the Socio-Legal Studies Association annual conference (University of Sussex, 30 March – 1 April), which brought together hundreds of delegates from across the UK and international, the map had its first interactive exhibition.

Spread across two buildings, the exhibition offered delegates an interactive screen to explore the resource at their own pace, alongside screenings of the short film we produced for the project. Visitors could browse the map, test the filters, and dig into the visualisations.

We were delighted to see the ways in which the participants interacted with the resource. There was a lot of warmth, openness, and curiosity. People zoomed into their own regions to see who was nearby, explored the tag network to trace disciplinary connections, and spotted gaps in the landscape that made us ask new questions. As Professor Caroline Derry (Open University) put it, the map offers something close to the experience of browsing a library shelf – “it’s still nice sometimes to just see what else is there and get ideas.”

Dr Emma Patchett (Northumbria University) observed that the resource “is not just descriptive… [it is] a tool of possibility.” That sense of possibility was very much alive at the exhibition. Conversations circled back to the same themes: who’s working on what, where the overlooked intersections are, and how the map could support new partnerships.

We invited visitors to leave us postcards with their first impressions, and they gave us plenty to smile about. Some visitors scribbled that it was “so fun to play with the map and find new treasures,” while others responded to the film and the exhibition together: “Loved the video and the map is so much fun! Wish more disciplines and research clusters had this.”

Others told us they’d like to see the resource grow, which is something we hear often. One visitor wrote: “Add India to your map!” That appetite for growth (into new geographies, new disciplines, new sectors) tells us that the resource is landing as intended: as a launchpad. There is a real desire among researchers to have the full breadth of their work seen, beyond the boundaries of any single institution or sector.

For those who couldn’t make it to Sussex, the map is live and waiting. You can explore it, test the filters, and see where your work fits in. We’d also love to hear from you – this is why the resource is in beta, after all: so that we can continue co-shaping it with the community. If you have thoughts, suggestions, or spot something missing, our feedback form is always open. We’d be glad to hear from you.

And if you’d like a flavour of the conversations that inspired the project, our short film features researchers from across the sector reflection on what the map makes possible.

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