Introduction

the what, where, when and why of "practice as research"

Robin Nelson

pp. 3-22

in: Robin Nelson (ed), Practice as research in the arts, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013

Abstract

People engage in research from a variety of motives but, ultimately the rigours of sustained academic research are driven by a desire to address a problem, find things out, establish new insights.¹ This drive is apparent in the arts throughout history, but it is relatively recently that it has been necessary to posit the notion of arts "Practice as Research". Time was when there were arts practices, on the one hand, and "academic" research on the other.² Artists engaging in inquiry through their practices may not have thought of what they did as "research", even though they were aware of an exploratory dynamic to address issues and achieve insights.³ The term arts "Practice as Research" would probably not have been coined had artists not got involved with modern higher education institutions in respect of programmes of learning, particularly at PhD level.⁴ The emphasis on studio practice in art schools or academies has found itself in tension with university protocols in respect of degree-awarding powers and the question of what constitutes knowledge in research.