Creative Practice Research Articles

Sensing the River Torne: Luminous Encounters in the Riverine Archive

This article explores the luminous exchanges that animate contemporary Western geoscience ways of imagining the Earth. Inquiring into fluvial geomorphology, it employs creative research practice and feminist materialist ideas to interrogate the multiple roles of light in the ways in which rivers become configured, envisioned, and known. Focusing on the River Torne in northern Finland and Sweden, the article contemplates creative gestures of sensing the Torne via various “technologies of light,” which draw the researcher into a haunted, intra-active, and ecological exchange with the riverscape. This immersive engagement with the Torne prompts reflection on the particular riverine knowledges, ecologies, and archives that become presenced in luminous research encounters—prompting a recognition of a distributed cognition in our practices of knowing riverscapes. In the process, the geomorphological notion of a riverscape archive becomes situated amid complex ecologies of light, which invites a radical commitment to the memory and lively potentiality of place and encourages care-full research entanglements within our luminous research archives.

Care ethics and contemporary art: Imagining and practising care

Feminist care ethicshas for some time guided contemporary artists and curators in their search for sustaining and sustainable practices in the current neoliberal backwash and climate crisis. With a focus on current Australian art in the context of recent care ethics scholarship, this article considers what contemporary art – in its processes as well as aesthetic outcomes – can offer in imagining and practising care for the human and more-than-human world. The article focuses on a series of exhibitions that comprised a key exploratory methodology of The Care Project: Feminism and art in neoliberal times (La Trobe University, 2019–2022). The exhibitions featured the work of regionally based artists. This accent on creative practices emerging from the experience of living in regional communities that are often on the frontline of climate change and social inequality offers unique perspectives on care ethics in practice.

Videographic criticism and the art of creative thinking

ABSTRACT This article introduces ‘The Creative Triad’, a novel framework that integrates three distinct perspectives – Researcher, Practitioner, and Spectator – to examine the creative process in videographic criticism. This framework facilitates a deeper understanding of the dynamic interplay between creative practice and theoretical inquiry within academic research. The development of the project unfolds through these perspectives: first, embodying the role of the Researcher, where theoretical insights inform the creative approach; second, assuming the position of the Practitioner, where the creative component, grounded in tacit knowledge, evolves through practice-led methodologies; and third, adopting the standpoint of the Spectator, where the production and outcomes of the creative practice are critically evaluated. These perspectives were not rigid and often intertwined throughout the iterative creative process and this triadic approach allows for a comprehensive exploration of how theory and practice can inform and enrich one another in videographic research. This methodological framework extends the thoughts of other creative thinkers, such as Graeme Sullivan, who introduced the concept of transcognition (Sullivan 2001) to create a confluence approach that utilises three perspectives – that of, the Researcher, Practitioner, Spectator.

The play’s the thing: reflections on the use of playwriting as creative practice within an education studies PhD

Purpose Expanding on Harris and Sinclair (2014, p. 5) claim that “the writing of a play is an act of inquiry”, this paper aims to consider the joyful entanglements, messiness and friction-led use of creative methods within the context of a PhD in education studies. Design/methodology/approach Amplifying the voices of both doctoral student and supervisor, the authors explain how the construction of a dramatic script informed the crafting of an alternative format thesis within which “the play’s the thing” (Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2). In responding to the influence of creativity in the lives of both the student and the supervisor, the paper uses creative and reflective writing as a method of inquiry to explore how practice and procedure are navigated in relation to non-standard theses submissions. Findings The authors find that academic expectancy continues to influence the structure, form and presentation of the PhD thesis and argue that enduring tensions surrounding the reverence of “tradition” impact the application and nature of creativity. Originality/value The piece aims to examine the multiple challenges faced but, importantly, highlights how the creative partnership between supervisor and student has forged changes in contemporary doctoral education in the awarding institution and the implications for future practice within doctoral education more broadly.

Synchronous (In)significance: Recording Ukraine’s Cultural Heritage in Real-Time

ABSTRACT Synchronous (In)significance argues for the recognition of a mode of heritage conservation within war-torn Ukraine that is already underway. The paper examines the digital initiative Polycam: Backup Ukraine which allows for everyday users to record, upload and share three-dimensional scans of places, sites and objects that they deem significant within their immediate environment. This evolving contemporary archive is positioned by its founders as a tool for citizen empowerment through the shared availability of the technology and storage of items for heritage capture. The resulting collection provides an unconventional account of the sites, spaces and objects at risk in Ukraine, creating a constellation of high, local, formal and idiosyncratic personal entries. Through this portal, a broad and unsanctioned account of Ukrainian heritage is revealed. This paper draws on the work of Tracy Ireland, Steve Brown and John Schofield which examines the dichotomous relationship of significance and insignificance in the practice of value creation and negotiation of heritage identity. Through this lens it examines how notions of sharing; shared technology, shared ownership and shared access might allow for the creation of a contemporary heritage archive, that interacts with memory, place and things, but does so in ways that “are often not possible in the context of official heritage regimes because of rigid aesthetic paradigms, urban or class conflict, identity politics, or dominant national narratives.” 1 The archive, which draws together digital records of well-regarded heritage sites with unexpected spaces and objects of the personal and the everyday, becomes a means of assessing notions of significance and (in)significance in real-time. This in turn, provides a mechanism for re-evaluating what aspects of the war-torn country are considered worthy of recording and sharing.

Design Thinking: A Creative Teaching Practice

Design Thinking is an ideology and a process; it’s all about solving complex problems in a user-centric way. It was created as a way of taking the processes and approaches that designers use and applying them to problems that designers don’t typically encounter. This approach is been widely used in the food and healthcare industry even in the design field or any field where the consumers and their needs are at the core. Various studies showed design thinking as an effective instructional methodology to develop students' creativity, innovation, collaboration, and non-linear problem-solving skills, among the 21st-century skills. In a typical classroom scenario, the teacher asks students questions accepting a ‘right answer’ from them without giving any importance to the creative and holistic development of the students. NEP 2020 primarily focuses on the conceptual understanding of the students. It is a teacher’s responsibility to provide students with an interactive classroom environment for developing 21st-century skills and competencies among them. The author’s ubiquitous goal is to present Design Thinking as an effective and creative teaching practice.

Through Immigrant Lens: A Reflection on Pierre Boudier’s Concept of Habitus Clivé through Photography

This article explores the creative practice of immigrant photography, specifically examining the artistic work of immigrants who have chosen Australia as their place of settlement. Analysing their photographic works, the article reflects on Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus clivé, which develops the notion of a fractured or divided self. This division arises when individuals confront conflicting social contexts, resulting in internal tension or dissonance within their sense of identity. In the context of migration, habitus clivé can manifest in various ways, such as tensions or conflicts between cultural traditions and new cultural contexts. Furthermore, migration can involve adaptation and adjustment in which individuals may selectively incorporate elements of the new culture into their existing habitus while maintaining aspects of cultural identity associated withtheir country of origin. These processes of negotiation and hybridisation can further contribute to the development of habitus clivé. For Bourdieu, these internal contradictions within one’s social identity are not static but evolve through ongoing social interactions. By closely examining immigrant photographers, the article highlights the visual narratives that emerge, illustrating how photography can transcend physical boundaries, creating an intermediary space between dislocation and settlement. This space becomes a potent mechanism for fostering a sense of belonging that extends beyond geographic boundaries. Interestingly, this sense is not secured to a specific geographic location but, rather, encompasses broader, internalised, notion of place. These changes align with the concept of habitus clivé as individuals navigate the complexities of migration and settlement. As a medium, photography enables individuals to inhabit this interim space of familiarity, enabling embodiment and facilitating connection with a sense of place that transcends traditional notions of belonging. The article discusses how photography can empower immigrant narratives, supporting a sense of belonging while capturing the diverse experiences of individuals navigating the challenges of immigration and settlement.

Wound: creativity, the military and a sculpture inspired by faces, minds, and landscapes scarred by the weapons of war

ABSTRACT In reference to Alice Cree’s observation that the words ‘creativity’ and ‘military’ do not seem to ‘fit together comfortably’, the first section of this autoethnographic article critically explores my personal experiences and motivations as an artist working in close proximity to military culture. This creative practice-military relationship is examined in a variety of contexts, including designing war memorials, exhibiting in military museums, and actively participating in military, commemorative rituals. The potential risks – being co-opted by military agendas – and benefits – having a platform to use my creative voice to express the consequences of martial violence – are discussed. Focusing on one of my artworks, Wound (2022), the second section demonstrates the capability of creative practice to interrogate consequences of military (and by implication, state) violence. Wound is a bronze sculpture cast from an original First World War British Brodie helmet and a German Mauser rifle cartridge. By means of moulding, casting, and modelling processes, I reconfigured the original sources of armour and ammunition as a narrative site to metaphorically explore the ‘wounding’ and ‘healing’ of landscapes and human faces and minds. Through the allegorical interpretation of this artwork and by recounting personal experiences related to its research and creation, I discuss my creative practice as a memory artist and explain my motivations for making artworks that explore human violence and warfare. The article surveys other examples of visual art and human violence in war from classical antiquity to the present, with particular emphasis on the First World War.

Adopting Zero-waste Pattern-making Techniques for Apparel Product Development

Every year, the fashion industry churns out millions of clothing items with fresh styles, resulting in significant fabric waste during production. This fabric waste contributes to environmental pollution. Embracing zero-waste pattern-making techniques for clothing production offers a viable solution to curbing this issue. By utilising the entire fabric yardage, these techniques aim to minimise or eliminate fabric waste after garment production. Zero-waste design is a holistic approach that integrates designing, production and sourcing processes. This article aims to propose solutions for controlling fabric waste through innovative zero-waste pattern-design techniques, thereby fostering a sustainable future. Traditionally, the apparel production process utilises 85% of fabrics, leaving behind 15% as wastage. The challenge lies in reducing this 15% wastage to zero (Abernathy et al., 1999). However, it is acknowledged that not everyone can readily adopt zero-waste pattern techniques. It requires creativity to develop optimal design solutions for apparel production. Collaboration among designers, pattern makers, academics and production professionals is essential for researching and identifying the best creative practices and solutions for integrating zero-waste pattern-making techniques into the apparel production process. Developing approaches for zero-waste pattern-making involves researching basic pattern design principles, understanding associated challenges and analysing outcomes. This research and development process in zero-waste pattern-making can pave the way for better sustainable practices, ultimately contributing to the reduction of fabric waste pollution and fostering a more sustainable future.

“Tears turning to diamonds:” creating empathic understanding toward women living with HIV through contemplative viewing of a virtual art exhibition

We explored changes in HIV knowledge and attitudes among audiences of an exhibition about women living with HIV (Information removed to maintain peer-review integrity). Six tours were facilitated with three groups: women living with HIV, health and social care providers, and the general public. Thirty participants were guided through a meditative breathing exercise prior to viewing five artworks from the exhibition through the contemplative process of “deep looking.” Participants were prompted to write and draw in response to their feelings and thoughts about each artwork. Four themes were identified: the first described how tours worked to elicit emotional responses; the second described the power of art to convey lived experiences and provoke new understandings; the third indicated a transformation in knowledge and attitudes; and the fourth highlighted many participants’ desires to effect change and reduce stigma. Creative and contemplative practices can make valuable contributions to public health by fostering empathic understanding toward marginalized groups.

Creative Practice and Pedagogy with the Marshall Islands: Navigating a Critical Call-and-Response

Creative Practice and Pedagogy with the Marshall Islands: Navigating a Critical Call-and-Response

Exploring epistemological prospect of proximity tourism in refugeedom through creative lens of poetic inquiry

ABSTRACT In this article, the author explores the epistemological prospect of proximity tourism in refugeedom through the creative lens of poetic inquiry (PI). With spoken word poetry at its core, the author portrays an unsung refugee’s journey during resettlement and articulates the importance of PI and creative analytic practice in doing so. Given that ‘creativity’ can lead to concerns about research reliability and antipathy toward research participants, the author emphasizes the importance of academically informed approaches in mitigating such risks in this article. This exploratory article illustrates the author’s evolution as a researcher actively involved in refugeedom and tourism, underscoring the relevance of PI as a creative, analytical conduit. He emphasizes incorporating PI into research while carefully balancing creative sensibilities and academic rigour.

Intermediality of Modern Art and Technologies of its Perception

The purpose of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of the manifestation of termediality in modern art in their influence on perceptual processes and to propose appropriate technologies for the perception of intermedial artistic phenomena. The research methodology is based on the concepts of media theory, communication theory, modern art theory and uses general scientific principles of interconnection, systematisation, and synergy. The purpose and objectives of the article necessitated the application of the method of extrapolation of heuristic algorithms of exact sciences to the heuristics of artistic phenomena with a view to practical methods of organising the perception of the intermediality of modern art by students of higher education. The use of the analytical method made it possible to identify the content and design resources of intermediality in its current development. The scientific novelty consists in projecting the properties of intermediality of modern art onto the technology of its perception in the process of university training. In the article, for the first time in domestic art history, the peculiarities of the manifestations of intermediality of modern art in connection with the communication of its recipients are understood. Conclusions. Intermediality is one of the main trends in the development of art, which consists in a kind of dialogue. From the point of view of perceptual processes, intermediality actualises the integrity of perception, which involves different sensory modalities. Intermediality in the modern artistic space outgrows the boundaries of the interaction of arts, connecting other spheres of culture and ensuring the inseparability of synthesised elements in creative practices different from traditional ones. Perception of intermedia modern art requires preparation, which should be carried out in the educational process. Effective technologies for perceiving the intermediality of modern art are interactive and intermedial.

Welcome to #SpoonieTok: Understanding and supporting disability expertise storytelling abilities and collective information practices on TikTok and beyond

This work-in-progress poster explores individual and collective storytelling and information creation practices in chronic illness TikTok communities, with the ultimate goal to support these embodied, creative, and multimodal abilities on and off-app through codesigned storytelling support materials. Findings from ongoing data collection and grounded theory coding, include folks’ sharing of disability expertise: using platform features to visualize invisible disability; audio, visual, and community-specific mimetic options. Interviews with 11 community members illuminate how disabled creators on TikTok engage in algorithmically-mediated online health communities, which have slippery boundaries where information can be found serendipitously through algorithmic ranking, and foster opportunities to develop storytelling skills.

Enhancing Creativity: The Impact of Multilingualism on Creative Arts Instruction and Expression in South African Schools

Teachers heavily rely on the dominant language of instruction—a spoken and written mode of communication—rather than expressing creative art forms through actions, signs, symbols, and other means. The reliance on monolingual forms of instruction to teach these art forms may diminish their efficacy. This research thus aimed to optimise the use of multilingualism in the context of Creative Arts and expression. Teachers teach Creative Arts with the aim of equipping learners with fundamental knowledge and skills in the arts, thereby fostering creativity, imagination, and appreciation for artistic activities. Multilingualism also entails using the human senses to see, understand, and navigate the various symbolic worlds humans encounter. The study adopted a transformational paradigm based on qualitative participatory research, focusing on ten eighth-grade learners purposefully selected from a particular school. Semiotics, the study of signals and the epistemology of their presence in society, served as the theoretical foundation for the research. The researcher collected data through focus groups and observations and then used a narrative analysis method for analysis. The findings revealed that limitations such as insufficient instructional time, a lack of training and linguistic dominance, a lack of resources, and limited preparedness impede the effective use of multilingual instructional methodologies. The researcher concludes that compulsory incorporation of semiotics in Creative Arts instruction may be crucial in fostering creative thinkers who cannot only express creative practices in a conventional manner but also use their talents in other domains, such as animation in creative practice. Keywords: Multilingualism, Creative Arts, Semiotics, Transformational Paradigm, Participatory Research.

"I'm a Solo Developer but AI is My New Ill-Informed Co-Worker": Envisioning and Designing Generative AI to Support Indie Game Development

Indie game developers are often defined as game developers who are typically not employed by or affiliated with tech giants or large gaming companies/publishers. Although people may decide to "go indie" for various purposes, indie game development has become a crucial part of the global gaming culture. However, this community is now facing unprecedented tensions as generative AI technologies are shifting how games can be designed, produced, and experienced. Through a qualitative analysis of 3,091 online posts and comments from subreddits and Facebook groups for indie game developers, we offer an in-depth investigation of how indie game developers perceive and envision the multifaceted role of generative AI in their creative practices. Our empirical investigation reveals that generative AI both promotes and harms indie game developers' endeavors to innovate the traditional game production model, which further influences the nature and workflow of creativity in game development. We also propose three principles for designing future generative AI technologies to improve indie developers' work while mitigating potential risks, harm, and negative impacts of AI. We hope that this study can help design and develop future generative AI technologies to foster and sustain more democratic and inclusive practices in game development rather than replacing human creators.

Early Childhood Education: Listening to A Child’s Voices Through A/R/Tographic Journey

This inquiry explores the impact of child-led perspectives in art education, using the methodologies of a/r/tography and autoethnography to explore the intersection of artistic practice, personal reflection, and educational theory. The research was inspired by a transformative experience with a 7-year-old child at a spring camp, whose imaginative storytelling of a “tire kingdom”, where car tires live secret lives, reversed traditional adult-child dynamics. The child’s insights redefined my roles as an artist-researcher-teacher/learner, placing him in the role of teacher and myself as the learner. This reversal opened up new pathways for reflection and creativity, as his imaginative exploration became a catalyst for my own artistic practice. I created a series of illustrations based on our stories, which evolved into a picture book that amplifies children’s voices, illustrating the importance of recognizing children’s contributions to educational discourse. Through a/r/tography, which integrates art-making, research, and teaching, alongside autoethnography’s focus on personal and cultural reflection, this inquiry underscores the value of interdisciplinary approaches in understanding the fluid relationships between adult and child, teacher and student. It also highlights the importance of listening to and incorporating children’s imaginative inquiries as a means of enriching educational and artistic practices. By engaging in this child’s world, I not only deepened my own creative and educational practice but also discovered the potential of child-led inquiry to reverse-shape adult learning, fostering reciprocal, inter-generational dialogue and new forms of creative collaboration.

Innovation in perspective: The role of creativity and open innovation in B2B, B2C, and B2G business models

This study explores how creativity and open innovation practices (inbound and outbound) influence product innovation and innovative performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Chile, using B2B, B2C, and B2G business models as moderating variables. Through empirical analysis based on a sample of 536 SMEs, we applied structural equation modeling to assess the relationship between creativity, open innovation practices, and their impact on product innovation. The results reveal that creativity significantly impacts product innovation and outbound practices, while inbound practices do not directly affect product innovation. Additionally, it was found that product innovation substantially improves the innovative performance of SMEs. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating how specific open innovation practices and creativity can be leveraged to enhance innovation in SMEs. Adapting these practices should consider the particularities of different business models to maximize their effectiveness.

Language teachers’ emotions in online classrooms: Relations among teachers’ appraisals of classroom events, emotional responses, and instructional practices

Drawing upon Frenzel’s (2014) framework of appraisals, the current study explored language teachers’ emotional experiences and their antecedents in the online teaching context. Moreover, the interrelations between teachers’ emotions and their instructional practices were also investigated. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eleven language teachers from a top-tier international university in China. Our findings revealed that positive appraisals of online classroom events, including goal attainment, the capacity in and responsibility of effectively delivering lessons online, and the importance teachers attached to online teaching, tended to result in positive emotional experiences, which consequently led to motivational stimulations in more creative and productive instructional practices. By contrast, teachers who had negative appraisals of online teaching events tended to experience more unpleasant emotions and emotional vulnerability, which would possibly impede effective instructional practices and steer their teaching towards more traditional teaching methods. Our study contributes to the understanding of the relations among teachers’ appraisals of classroom events, emotional experiences, and instructional practices in online language classrooms. Implications for how to prepare teachers emotionally for online teaching are also discussed.

Reimagining anti-racist translingual pedagogy through multilingual international students’ digital counter-storytelling practices

ABSTRACT Informed by the current scholarly conversations surrounding linguistic racism, this paper investigates anti-racist translingual practices within the context of a college multilingual writing classroom. Fusing translingualism and critical race theory, the paper underscores the significance of translingual digital storytelling as a critical and creative practice of counter-storytelling. Based on a case study of the translingual digital stories created by nine multilingual international students, the paper explores the potential of these stories in combating linguistic racism and inferiority complexes. I begin by framing the issue of linguistic racism within multilingual education, emphasizing the perils of racial marginalization and discrimination experienced by multilingual international students. I then explore how the multilingual students in this study have utilized a range of linguistic repertoires and multiple modalities to document and resist their lived experiences with race and racism. Based on my analysis of the students’ digital stories, I conclude this paper with pedagogical implications for integrating translingual digital storytelling into anti-racist teaching and learning.