Creative Dialogue Research Articles

Communicating the dialog between painting and music with a mobile application

Contemporary visual artists often collaborate with musicians and composers to enrich their artworks and provide multisensory viewing experiences by leveraging the power of digital technology. In this paper, we present our approach to follow in their footsteps by creating a mobile application that provides “mixed-media interpretations” for a variety of visual artworks and music pieces, spanning over different time eras, with the objective to reflect the creative dialog and multifaceted interaction between their creators through time. Targeting the broader public, we attempt to capture a variety of interconnections between works of visual arts and music that may be of interest and are comprehensible to people with varying levels of knowledge on art or music, including not only inspirational but also personal and social relationships among the artists. We provide a six-layered conceptual model to ease the description of the content produced to that end while reporting several concrete examples. Then, we focus on how to communicate and digitally mediate the intertwined and often intricate interconnections in a concise way, proposing a “three-act” story scheme to progressively display short narratives on screen, combined with music reproduction on the mobile device. Finally, we explore the potential of the proposed approach through a user study with 15 participants and report a series of promising key findings, whereas also discussing future directions and pointing out open issues.

A ‘New Social Virtuosity’; A Dissonant Manifest(o)

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the intersection of music, creativity, and society through the lens of a critical and self‐critical appraisal of the here.here concert series; ongoing research‐led collaboration focusing on transdisciplinary approaches to experimental music with a focus on the socio‐politico‐environmental dynamics at play between all involved in a musical encounter. The authors, both academics and composers, contend that experimental music, in its super‐local, interpersonal connections, can challenge the conventional and institutional, serving as an alternative to the homogeneity and self‐centred individualism fostered by capitalist systems. We propose the concept of a ‘new social virtuosity (“social virtuosity” in a music context was coined by Maggie Nicols in the 1970s to describe Feminist Improvising Group and their challenge of the “technological or instrumental elitism”; often dismissed by male musicians. (We came across it through the PhD research of one of our students Maureen Wolloshin),’ viewing the music landscape as a vast terrain where various musical, artistic, and creative directions intersect and converge, transcending presumed binaries. The paper foregrounds the significance of curatorial practice in bridging these differences and harnessing social dissonance, particularly in the context of the capitalist systems which enable these concerts. The authors argue that curation, despite its necessary interplay with these systems, can act as a tool to disrupt and question them. They explore how the act of curation influences social and political dynamics, examining its potential to create new ways of interaction and empowerment. This approach serves as a contrast to those systems that often cause disconnection and isolation. The authors reflect upon three case studies from the last two seasons of the here.here concert series that explicitly focused on the concepts of ‘ventriloquy’ and ‘social virtuosity’ as forms of creative agency: entering into critical dialogue with and giving voice to seminal works (Cage 4′33, Alexander J. Ellis (1814–1890)) for the former and three contemporary pioneers of ‘social virtuosity’—Eva‐Maria Houben—Maggie Nicols and Eddie Prevost for the latter. The concept of ‘social dissonance’ is examined, illustrating how it can be used as a catalyst for creative dialogue and solidarity, while also encouraging a deeper understanding of our shared societal dynamics. Finally, the paper introduces the concept of ‘a new social virtuosity’, emphasising the importance of listening, collaboration, and collective intention in creating a shared musical experience that expands beyond the stage to include the audience. It concludes by examining the performance of 4′33 within this context and underscores the power of dissonance as a tool for creative and critical thinking.

PERFORMING ACTIVITY AS A MEANS OF DEVELOPMENT OF MUSICAL THINKING

This article deals with the problem of developing the creative independence of a musician-performer in the process of interpreting the composer’s image of a musical work. The author proves that the psychotechnical approach to work on a composition prevails in modern music pedagogy, whereas the approach based on the theory of psychophysical unity is much more effective. A comparison of the two approaches, their positive and negative sides is given. The conclusion of the article is understanding of the need for a creative dialogue between the composer and the performer of a musical text, which also implies unconditional command of the musical “language”, subordinate to mastery of musical “speech”.

No room! Of course there’s room

This article is an adaptation of a workshop provocation given at the University of the Arts London (UAL) Education Conference in July 2023, which I set up as an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ ‘Mad Hatter’s’ table. I dressed the table on theme and equipped it with props, as a set to share with fellow educators a focus group project I had undertaken with students on overcrowding in their college art studios. I held up the lack of room in the studios as a social justice issue for exploration, first, as the inflation of numbers and knock-on impact of overcrowding of studios felt by students was acknowledged as result of over-recruitment to the course during and post pandemic; and second, exploring the question of whether minority students are most impacted; including those who are less confident to claim space due to factors such as accessibility, language barriers, financial issues and lack of peer support within the course. By putting workshop participants in the position of taking a seat at a fictional table space, loaded with caricature, I sought to provoke a creative dialogue around positionality and our relationship to shared space, while contemplating anonymised transcripts of the focus group dialogue that had taken place with students around a different table earlier in the academic year. The workshop gave reference to the ideas of Nirmal Puwar regarding positionality and the negotiation of space; and to Mikhail Bakhtin when considering student utterances in the focus group dialogue.

Институт наставничества в социокультурном пространстве Русского Севера и Русской Арктики: традиции и новации

At the XV Congress of Anthropologists and Ethnologists of Russia, held in St. Petersburg at the end of June 2023, special attention was paid to the discussion of topical theoretical and practical problems related to scientific reflections and social practices of the institute of mentoring in the cultures of the Rus-sian North. The report presented by the authors of this article at the Congress outlined the scientific results of research on the traditional institution of mentoring in the Old Believer societies of Karelians, Komi, Russian Ust-Tsilems, the “institute of grandmothers” in Kenozerye and Onega Pomorie, the ritual “mentoring” functions of Nenets shamans and Zyryan sorcerers, public practices of the spiritual guidance of the laity in the parochial community of the North Russian mir-zemstvo. The central place in the article is given to the presentation of the scientific results of the analysis of the forms, methods and directions of the mentoring activities of the Kenozerskiy National Park, which, relying on the ethno-cultural heritage of the traditional societies of the Ozernyy district, acts as a reference methodological school-laboratory, implementing a wide range of mentoring research and educational practices aimed at transformation of local territories into a socio-cultural space of creative dialogue and cooperation between the Park and local communities, training of leaders and activists of territorial public self-government (TPS), elaboration of regional strategy and local programs of spatial development of the Northern macro-region.

Yarning and knitting words: a cross-cultural thought experiment on writing beyond school

This article provides an account of a yarn between a First Nations Australian researcher and an Anglo-Celtic Australian researcher about the future of writing curriculum in subject English education, if school in its current settler-colonial form were to be abolished and completely re-imagined. Yarning is an Indigenous research method evolving from Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing; it is a form of knowledge production. The original yarn, on which this further creative dialogue is based, takes the form of a recorded podcast conversation between the authors, who are academic colleagues at the same university and former English teachers. The research focus of the conversation was what a post-Treaty, post-school writing education might be. However, rather than providing ready answers, our relational thinking foregrounds the challenges in asking this question, and in non-Indigenous Australians expecting Indigenous Australians to provide fixes for the problems engendered by the ongoing injustices of colonisation.

An Inclusional-Dialogic Approach to Qualitative Inquiry

My research looks into collaborative learning and co-creativity in educational contexts. This paper presents my research trajectory towards inclusional-dialogic perception, discernment, and expression. I understand this phenomenon as thinking from presence: a natural inquiry process that is immersive, dialogic, and inherently embodied; a creative dialogue between self and habitat. I combine Natural Inclusionality and dialogism as my philosophical foundations. Importantly, I extend the notion of thinking from presence to the research inquiry itself, broadening the scope of scientific explorations of experience. Thus, the inquiry becomes a dance in between extraspection (outward perception) and introspection (inward sensing), brought together in an empathic second perspective. The natural inclusional approach entails a move away from the logic and language of definition into the logic and language of flow. This article discusses how fluid logic has shaped my research approach and my writing, with three emergent features. First, the inquiry and its documentation constitute an open-ended and serendipitous dialogue with the phenomena in focus. Second, research analysis and writing moves away from the predominance of the textual, recognizing that the translation of the experience into language is not an unavoidable necessity. It also underlines the significance of the visual and poetic expression of philosophy, methods, and findings, fusing science and art into partnership. Third, the disseminative writing is immersive. It openly brings forth an interplay between subjective and objective. My own lived, personal experience of the researched phenomena is a central layer of experiential meaning making, affording contemplative insight. Centering my research approach around the notion of thinking from presence is not a purely epistemological issue. It speaks to the nature of reality and captures the overarching desire to contribute to a deeper human understanding of the self in the context of its natural neighborhood.

‘O! awa wi sic sangs as aft hae been sung’: radical songwriting and the rethinking of Chartism

ABSTRACT Chartist songs, and the movement’s culture more generally, have received growing scholarly attention in recent decades. This article uses a case study of the many Chartist songs written to the tune of Robert Burns’s ‘Scots wha hae’ to explore the ways in which Chartist songwriters participated in the reworking of radical culture and ideas taking place in the 1830s and 1840s. These Chartist versions of ‘Scots wha hae’ – new words to an old tune – engaged in a conscious and creative dialogue between the Chartist present and the radical past. As such, they are an ideal source for exploring continuity and change in nineteenth-century radicalism, a topic of sustained historical controversy since the 1980s. Rather than indicating continuity, these re-writes of ‘Scots wha hae’ reveal how the Chartists saw themselves as a new phase of radicalism, facing novel political and economic challenges, appealing to broader constituencies of nationality, class and gender, and foregrounding working-class, rather than gentlemanly, leadership. Moreover, the act of showcasing this plebeian musical creativity on a scale unmatched by previous radical movements illustrates Chartism’s commitment to songwriting as both a key form of democratic activism and an innovative challenge to the cultural hierarchies of Victorian society.

В.Я. Брюсов, Н.Ф. Федоров и деятели Федоровианы 1900–1920-х годов: Вопрос о смысле и целях искусства. Статья вторая: по страницам журнала «Весы»

The article is the second part of the study of the problem of spiritual and creative dialogue between the founder of Russian symbolism V.Y. Bryusov and the philosopher of common cause N.F. Fedorov. The first year of the symbolist journal “Vesy” publishment is considered, on the pages of which a memorial note about the philosopher appeared written by Chernogubov as well as two significant Fedorov's texts – the article “Astronomy and Architecture”, which outlined the vector of art movement from artistic contemplation of the world and its imprinting in beautiful forms to the real transformation and restoration of life, which becomes the result of the union of science and art, and the fragment “On Writings”, which introduced the theme of unity of faith into the horizon of conversation about art, culture and life, which is opposed by secularization, profanation and devaluation of creativity. It is shown that the publication of Fedorov's texts was part of the ideological strategy of the leading body of Russian symbolism, which, like the philosopher of the common cause, declared its radical revolution in the field of art, which, according to Bryusov, is designed not to reflect the world, but to break the shackles of the “blue prison”, to bring the spirit and consciousness of the artist to the beyond. The lines of interaction on the pages of the journal “Vesy” of Fedorov's texts with the texts of the leading theorists of the journal V.Y. Bryusov, A. Bely, V. Ivanov are shown. It is revealed that Fedorov's call for the transition from contemplation to action resonates with the mood of the young symbolists, it is shown that the philosopher anticipates the concept of life creation.

THE CULTURAL TRADITION AS A STYLISTIC FACTOR IN THE CHORAL MUSIC OF YU. ISHCHENKO

The author investigated the choral work by Yuriy Ishchenko in the context of the cultural processes of Ukrainian composers' creativity of the second half of the 20th - beginning of the 21st centuries. The research has proposed subject-content levels of studying the individual author's creative dialogue of the composer with the traditions of Ukrainian and European musical culture. It was found that the choral works of Yuriy Ishchenko are built according to traditional principles, but at the same time they carry new ideas and meanings. The dialogical nature of the composer's creative consciousness as a creative personality existing in the cultural space of modernity is described. An attempt was made to determine the stylistic specificity of Yuriy Ishchenko's choral work in the aspect to actualize its representativeness against the background of the functioning of the cultural tradition in the space of further artistic practice. The organic connection between the creative practice of this outstanding representative of the Ukrainian school of composers and the structural levels of tradition as a special form of culture is substantiated. It was established that the choral work of Yuryi Ishchenko demonstrates a new vision, understanding and individual creative reproduction of the cultural tradition as a fundamental basis of the composer's practice. It is noted that tradition acts as the main "regulator" of the dynamic ratio of "old" and "new" in musical culture. The principles of interaction of dynamic (individual-functional-creative) and static (objective-content) complexes of cultural tradition in the space of musical creativity are traced. It has been proven that the choral works of Yuryi Ishchenko are the genre-stylistic "core" of the composer's creative experience, in which the genetic links between the musical art of the 20th century and the traditions of European and Ukrainian culture were actualized. The neo-folkloric and neo-romantic stylistics of the choral works of the Ukrainian composer are personified, as well as their musical and stylistic orientation towards the aesthetics of the "new sacredness".

The Impossibility of Socialism. Part 2. The new Individualism

The article is devoted to the study of social and class contradictions in modern society. The author shows that, despite growing economic inequality in developed countries, the prospect for uniting all the exploited and oppressed in fight for a socialist society, equality and justice is becoming increasingly vague. There are many grounds for asserting the impossibility of socialism (in the foreseeable future) and the inevitability of a new antagonistic stage in the development of society. The second part substantiates the last two theses of the article: 1) the richer the cultural diversity of society, the more prerequisites for intergroup value conflicts; 2) new post-capitalist social relations do not contribute to solidarity and creative dialogue of everyone with everyone in the format of “knowledge communism”, but to the deepening of individualism. It is concluded that in the era of the “impossibility of socialism” any political struggle conducted under leftist slogans is inevitably waged in favor of some social groups to the detriment of the interests of other social groups.

Affective Entanglements: Human-Nonhuman Relations in Buddhist Ecologies of Feeling

This article reflects on key concepts in early South Asian Buddhism and their potential for creative dialogue with current concepts of research at the philosophical forefront of ecological thinking. It explores the role of feelings---that is, both bodily affects and culturally formed emotions---as crucial in negotiating the relations between humans and nonhumans and their environments. To this end, the concept of affective entanglement is proposed as a way of describing and analysing the condition of constitutive ecological linkage articulated through feelings and based in the fundamental interdependence of all phenomena in the world. Through careful analysis of a series of important early Buddhist Pali texts dealing with forested environments, this article explores how the early Buddhist teaching can challenge and enrich how we think of persons and bodies in relation to other beings and environments. Through a discussion of the powerful emotion of fear and the importance of vulnerability, the article develops thoughts on how Buddhist emotional practices as practices of care can inspire new approaches in today's times of escalating ecological crisis and acute vulnerability in coexisting and intersecting human and nonhuman pluriworlds.

Blending Noh and Shakespearean Elements: An Exploration of Tradition and Modernity in Singaporean Theatre

This paper delves into the groundbreaking fusion of Noh and Shakespearean elements in Singaporean theatre, showcasing a unique blend that mirrors the diverse cultural tapestry of Singapore and its ambitions as a global arts hub. By melding the minimalist and symbolic aesthetics of Noh with the rich narratives and characters of Shakespearean drama, Singaporean theatre has carved out a distinctive niche in the global arts scene. This fusion not only pays homage to the traditional roots of Noh and the timeless appeal of Shakespeare but also pushes the boundaries of theatrical expression, creating a vibrant and innovative form that resonates with audiences worldwide. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the artistic innovations resulting from this fusion, evaluates the audience reception, discusses the cultural implications, and explores the potential opportunities for future theatrical endeavors in Singapore. The blending of Noh and Shakespearean elements signifies a creative dialogue between Eastern and Western traditions, offering fresh perspectives and new possibilities for storytelling and performance in the contemporary theatrical landscape. This fusion is emblematic of Singapore’s broader aspirations to serve as a cultural bridge and a hub for artistic innovation, reinforcing its position as a dynamic and multicultural arts center on the global stage.

The Eindhoven Phenomenon. History and Development of Dutch Design Week

This article analysis the unique character of the Dutch Design Week festival (DDW) in Eindhoven, emphasising its meaning as an event presenting experimental and critical approach to design. The text presents the change of Eindhoven from an industrial city into a centre for innovation and design, paying attention to the key events and persons who affected the festival development. Based on free interviews with five different recipients of the event and the analysis of available reports, the article provides a profile and motivations of participants, emphasising the social and cultural influence of the festival on design circles and local community. Moreover, the text sheds a light on problems and challenges the festival has faced, indicating the obstacles to its further development, and the ways in which the organisers and participants try to tackle them in order to continue its mission of supporting innovation and international creative dialogue. Keywords: design festival, design promotion, Eindhoven, Dutch Design Week, design exhibitions

Диалог о глобализации, культуре и цивилизации

The article presents two original points of view on the most important topics of modern global studies. The topic is discussed from the perspective of Russian and Chinese scientists. During the conversation, which took place following the results of a lecture delivered by the Russian philosopher at the Chinese university, the participants of this conversation discussed the possibilities of dialogue in the modern world, where global processes are closely intertwined with cultural and civilizational trends of social development. Their positions on a number of significant issues are close or completely coincide. At the same time, the topics related to the definition of globalization, as well as the understanding of culture, civilization and the relationship between them, are clearly debatable in this dialogue. At the end of the conversation, which is conducted in a constructive spirit from the perspective of various philosophical systems, the authors agree on the need to continue the creative dialogue on emerging differences.

Creative Dialogue with Generative AI: Exploring the Possible with Ron Beghetto

Creative Dialogue with Generative AI: Exploring the Possible with Ron Beghetto

Humanistic orientation of sports coach training

One of the main problems of reforming the process of training sports coaches, who will be the key to the restoration of the state and the final democratic changes of our society, is the formation of certain democratic values and corresponding personal qualities in them. Therefore, it is relevant to consider the issue of approaches to the formation of personal qualities in future coaches during the educational process in higher education institutions.
 The purpose of the study: to determine pedagogical approaches to the formation of personal qualities in future trainers during the educational process in institutions of higher education.
 Research methods: theoretical analysis and generalization of scientific and methodical literature, observation.
 The article presents the results of the research, which was conducted on the basis of the National Technical University "Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute". 30 students of the 4th year took part in it. Analysis of the literature and observation of the preparation of the specialty 017 "Physical culture and sport" made it possible to identify the need to find humanistically oriented developments to improve the educational process of training sports coaches, who, according to modern requirements, should be creative, free, purposeful individuals. It has been proven that ensuring the humanistic orientation of coaching activity requires a certain level of development of personal qualities from the future coach, among which the main ones are humanity, mercy, benevolence, kindness, cordiality, sensitivity, faith, respect and love for the child, freedom-loving, humanism, empathy, responsibility, tolerance, honesty, dignity, justice, principles, cheerfulness. It has been established that the following teaching methods are effective for the formation of humanistic qualities: the method of creative dialogue, professional trainings, social role-playing and business games, "brainstorming", analysis of practical situations, the method of the open tribune. All these methods are active and allow forming the personal qualities of students with an emphasis on humanistic orientation.

M. Lermontov’s and S. Esenin’s Patriotic Lyrics

In this article, the problem of studying the creative dialogue of poets, connected with the development of traditions and their interpretation, is one of the most urgent tasks of modern literary criticism.

Grounding Ethics Nondualistically: Fruit from a Synthetic Reading of John Wesley and Masao Abe

abstract: "[T]rue Christianity cannot exist without both the inward experience and outward practice of justice, mercy, and truth," writes John Wesley, the eighteenth-century founder of Methodism. For him, belief and behavior, motivation and praxis, collapse dialectically into one. The Kyoto-formed dialogist Masao Abe identifies one strength and one weakness each in the poles of Western and Zen thought. For him, the West understands the importance of ethical behavior but cannot understand the oneness of all things. Conversely, Zen Buddhism is deficient in its conception of ethics but more actualized in understanding the interdependence of all things ( pratītyasamutpāda ). While his Western interlocutors include a disproportionate number of heirs to the Wesleyan tradition, Abe himself never deals directly with Wesley. This is presumably because of the latter's European Modernist philosophical and theological commitments. Still, putting these diverse worldviews in creative dialogue with each other might do more to resolve Abe's twofold tension than does his conversation with more "likely" interlocutors. If Abe is correct that "the practical problem par excellence" in Buddhism is integrating the "oneness of practice and enlightenment and that the West tends to bifurcate existence to its own detriment," Wesley can be invited into the conversation to stand in the gap between these challenges. For the Methodist patriarch, understanding and ethics are two sides of one coin in his emphases on "practical divinity" and "social holiness."

Pensar a organização e os estudos organizacionais desde a filosofia da práxis

Abstract This essay proposes a reflection on the themes of organization and organizational studies, taking the propositions of Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez’s philosophy of praxis as the foundation. The author’s propositions are systematized in the first part of the text, what refers to the definitions of praxis and teleology - what defines the proper human activity - to the inseparable relationship between theory and practice in praxis; to the levels and forms of praxis - repetitive and creative, spontaneous and reflexive; to the philosophy of praxis. Based on these foundations, a reflection is made on Administrative Theories, Organizational Theories, Management as the hegemonic version in Administration and Organizational Studies (OS), Organizational Analysis understood as a predominantly interpretive and constructionist theoretical activity, and Critical Management Studies. It ends with a discussion about OS as a space with the potential for a creative praxis in relation to the organization of liberating social struggles. The challenge is to think about organization as a category with possibilities of content developed based on creative dialogues and learning processes with the knowledge produced in the praxis of organizing liberating concrete struggles embedded in material socio-historical relations.