Mindful practice: research and interdisciplinary dialogues in the creative industries

Abstract

[Abstract]: In this paper I am positioning the creative practitioner within a paradigm of methodological inventiveness where new forms and patterns of research and practice are spawned. I see practice-led research as an interdisciplinary mix of artistic, cultural, scholarly and industrial concerns where the studio becomes an experimental arena for creative interactions, a space for critical analysis and renewal that enables a deeper understanding of artist’s work processes. I will argue that these practices can become the established excellences of tomorrow as research comes alive. In exploring briefly the possibilities of research for the studio-based art and design practitioner I recognise that the nature of art and design practice, as well as the influences that may shape any activity are disparate and wide ranging. This poses a need to focus research on the experience and concomitant knowledge of the practitioner as a significant source of information. By focusing on the experiential knowledge of the practitioner the complexity of pertinent issues that may make up practice-led research in any situation are included as integral and essential aspects of such an argument.