Accommodating creative documentary practice within a revised systems model of creativity

Abstract

ABSTRACTPractice-led research using person-centred theories of creativity is being challenged by confluence approaches to creativity. ‘The systems model of creativity’ (Csikszentmihalyi 1999: 315) represents one confluence theory, which re-conceptualizes creativity by immersing the agent in a cultural and social system that enables and constrains creative practice. Using the systems model as a theoretical foundation, this research examines my creative documentary practice during the production of an oral history documentary. Using Fort Scratchley, a linear 53-minute documentary, and an online multimedia companion, Fort Scratchley a Living History (www.fortscratchley.org), both detail the military and maritime history of Fort Scratchley, at Newcastle, Australia. Critical reflections on my embodiment and immersion in the content of the domains and fields of Fort Scratchley and documentary practice confirm the appropriateness of the systems model for creative practice research. However, an updated version of the model was generated to provide a more effective representation of how a practitioner internalizes their creative system.