On Friday, a group of us attended (both in person and via Skype) a BAPP session at the Hendon Campus. Present were Tom, Charnelle, Victoria, Lizzie, Megan, Lucy and Nastazia with Paula leading the session. We began by introducing ourselves, talking about our current professional practice and briefly touching on what stage we are at with the BAPP course, and what our inquiries are about if we had reached that stage of development.
It was lovely to hear from both Module 1 and Module 2 students as it made me think back to how I felt and what I experienced at that point in the course. I actually had a moment of reflection with Victoria and Lizzie before the session began where we chatted about how each of us was getting on. I remember commenting that Module 2 (which they are both on) was the time when I put in all of the groundwork for my inquiry and made it as clear as I could in my mind what I wanted to carry forwards and research in greater depth throughout Module 3. It was fascinating to listen to the early stages of their research and what they are interested in pursuing.
"What is arts based research?"
This question formed a huge part of what we discussed during the session. Paula had brought along a wealth of information, namely a collection of books touching on all areas of the arts and beyond. It was great to have her go through some of this literature with us and explain some of the philosophies, practises, methods, ways of thinking etc, that have been presented by these practitioners through the years. Paula confirmed that she will be putting a list of these sources up so keep your eyes peeled!
Paula urged us to ponder "what is academic about art?"
How would you answer that question? Art may not be so generically academic in the way that it does not boast mathematic equations or scientific research. Instead it is a broad spectrum of many disciplines which use performance as research. Be it a dance or music performance; an art installation; gallery exhibition; book or poetry reading; the list could go on! Art is a collection of something that inspired someone which they then bring into the here and now. Relating this back to the BAPP, we should be thinking about what inspires us and build a context for our research which branches out into other areas of the arts that may not be so familiar to you. We each have a solid understanding of our own art form but now we have the opportunity look at the bigger picture and source things that stand out to us and inform our thinking. We talked about how picking a few keywords relating to your topic area and playing around with them, putting them into Google and seeing what results you get, can be an excellent way educating yourself on what is already out there. Often you stumble across really useful sources which could then potentially form part of your literature review at a later stage.
For example, I am primarily familiar with and inspired by dance and I am relating the context of my inquiry to this sector of the arts. However how can I look beyond dance to other forms of art for example drawing, photography, sculpture; to give me further inspiration. Tom commented that it is finding correlation between the topic area of your inquiry and other areas of our society. You should be branching off to find different ideas from different sectors but with similar motives to your own research. It is finding those slices of history; those philosophical theories; those changes in the law; those social, ethical and political issues; those scientific developments, that inform your thinking and help you to create a basis upon which you can build your research and craft a well informed inquiry.
Potentially the most absorbing discussion in my opinion to come out of today was us sharing our thoughts on what is happening now in the world we live in. We asked ourselves "what does today's audience need?". Usually there is a time and a place in the arts and we use what is going on around us to inspire us. Each generation re-produces and presents things in a different way depending on the cultural aspects of their environment and how they choose to interpret them. There is always someone creating something different and showing it in a new way. Of course today the media is a huge influence on how we interpret cultural shifts and understand what people are saying and doing in any situation be it a political crisis, natural disaster or heinous crime. News reports, articles, press coverage are the window through which we view the world which to me seems like quite a scary thought. We can be so easily manipulated to view something through the eyes of a lens which perhaps does not give us a full grasp of everything that is going on.
From this I started to think about how dancers are viewed in the media. I thought about how dancing is more often than not seen as something so glamorous, effortless and wonderful but what really goes on behind the scenes? The BBC programme 'Strictly Come Dancing' immediately came to mind as again it is such a well put together show full of glitter, allure and exaggerated glamour which I agree is stunning to see. Yet what really goes on behind the scenes? How do the people working on this show, or more specifically the dancers, actually cope with the demands? This is something I will be thinking about more as I pursue my research into the treatment of dancers and their legal rights as a worker.
Another idea that I developed from this in conjunction with a comment made from Paula during the campus session is that no matter what is happening to a performer behind the scenes, they will always give their all to an audience no matter what. Paula commented that "artists are inventors". This can be interpreted in the way that artists are creators of new works and they invent concepts, visuals, experiences which can make us think or feel a certain way. Artists are also inventors in the sense that they invent the person they want us to see. Dancers in particular are very good at inventing a persona to be presented to an audience. Just something else to think about...
A theme that surfaced on a number of occasions was the idea of a 'scapegoat' - having someone to blame for the mistakes and wrongdoings of others. We thought about how in today's society, everyone likes to find a scapegoat to blame for the things that go wrong in this world. Is it fair of us to find a scapegoat? Does it actually solve issues or simply shift the blame and divert attention away from the issues? I think this could be a particularly interesting concept to explore given the events of 2016 in terms of Brexit and the very recent US election.
To finish what had been a truly engaging session, Paula had us all contribute to 2 separate mind maps. We were given a short stint of say 5 minutes to brainstorm and write down the first things that come to mind when thinking about the key words given to us. The first mind map was surrounding Arts-based Research (see image below):
Main themes that appear to reoccur are that arts-based research is creative and 'transdisciplinary'. It pushes us to think 'outside the box' and link philosophies, ideas and perspectives together. It is embracing different art forms and finding connections between everything you do. I suppose you could compare it to connecting the dots of a huge picture which gradually, over time, takes shape to form an intricate and interesting image.
Following on from this and keeping in line with a very prominent theme in today's society, Paula chose the word Activism for us to have a go at:
Looking back at this image, I can really pick up on our persistent need to reiterate that change is needed; voices should be heard; people should be educated; respect not ignorance should be had; close-mindedness should be a thing of the past and we should want to inform and inspire people to talk openly and find solutions to national and international issues. I remember us commenting on how we feel complacency has too large of a presence in our society particularly following the result of Brexit and the US election. Perhaps it is time for us to finally break this stagnant mindset and will change to happen in a way that unites our world and encourages social, political and cultural development.
Overall it was a really enjoyable, informative afternoon. It is always lovely to meet other students on the course and discuss the ideas and opinions that are important to us as individuals,. I have agreed to either meet up or organise a Skype session in the near future with a couple of Module 3 students. It is coming to that time when we will be wanting as much support and reassurance as we can get and I always enjoy feeding off of other people's ideas and opening my mind to embrace perspectives which help in my own development as a professional.
