I have been thinking about practice research a fair bit recently. As the title of this site suggests, research, practice, and the relationship between the two are subjects of enduring interest to me and I have written in previous posts on practice research, here and here. I was prompted to revisit this topic again partly … Continue reading “Practice research – what’s new?”
One of my own confusions that I have been grappling with through this research period is what is meant by practice-based and practice-led research. My experience has been that these terms, which describe the generative and reciprocal relationship between research and practice, are different in subtle but significant ways. Yet they also seem to be … Continue reading “Practice Research – Clarifying Terminology”
What are the types of knowledge produced through artistic research? What are the fields of knowledge production in the art museum? Is ‘knowledge’ an adequate term to describe what emerges from artistic enquiry or is there something beyond and outside of knowledge that needs to be accounted for? These are some of the questions that … Continue reading “Practice based research – revisiting some key questions”
Recently I have been revisiting my Phd. My doctoral research focused on the relationship between artistic ways of knowing and how this translates into specific forms of learning and teaching in the art museum. I went about it by interviewing and observing five artist educators – Liz Ellis, Esther Sayers, Michele Fuirer, Lucy Wilson and … Continue reading “Artistic practice and research in the art museum”
In early November, I spent a day at the Knowle West Media Centre (KWMC) in Knowle West, an estate in the south of Bristol, at the invitation of Dr Roz Stewart-Hall who is Head of Research and Evaluation there. KWMC describes itself as an arts centre and charity that supports individuals and communities to get … Continue reading “Research within Communities of Practice”
Part of the reason why I became interested in how research operates within the art museum was that I found it very confusing. My sense was that the dominant model of research was of a specialized activity, based largely around the collection, which curators were tasked with undertaking. However, my experience was that curators were … Continue reading “Historical perspectives on museum research”
In the last post I wrote on anxiety. Now I want to think about the importance of love in relation to research. I imagine that some reading this will be surprised, if not unnerved, by the idea that love has a place in the research process. Surely love is erratic, messy, emotional and highly subjective? … Continue reading “Research, complexity and love”
I have always been interested in the relations of power that exist in the researcher – researched relationship. Who is more powerful and what is the basis of that power? How is that power manifested? What can be done to reduce levels of inequality in the relations of power? Recently I have had reason to … Continue reading “Research, vulnerability and anxiety”
The association between knowledge and power sits at the heart of much of my thinking around art museums. Issues of who feels welcome in the museum, whose ideas and interpretations are valued and whose voices are heard most loudly are all entangled in, and shaped by how knowledge is constructed in relation to power. Looking … Continue reading “Knowledge and power – researching young children’s experience of the museum”
Recently I was contacted by a colleague from Australia, Sheona White, who has been reading the blog. She posed a question to me concerning what it takes to lead and manage individuals and team(s) who are keen to undertake practitioner research in museum learning programmes. Sheona rightly pointed out that we tend not to discuss … Continue reading “Supporting practitioner-led research in the art museum – what can leaders do?”
PRAM 