Abstract

Arts-based research has many possibilities and can have an art form at various points in the spectrum of research. It could be the creation of an artwork itself, or the artwork might be the object of study; art might be collected as research data or the process to bring to light aspects of the human condition. A group of geographically (and to a degree, academically) isolated creative arts practitioners and researchers have been meeting in a virtual space on a fortnightly basis to provide collegial support for each other as they wrestle with ways to turn their ideas into form. The aim of this article is to describe the establishment and growth in the group and demonstrate the value of sharing insights, pains, and pollinations between research, writing, and creativity. Members of the Creative Practice Circle (CPC) work with poetry, crochet, collage, soil and water on canvas, textiles, pastels, radio, and creative writing. The practices vary, but the members discuss questions about how we might attempt to understand or interpret what is being said in “languages” we do not understand. In bringing each of their research projects and products cooperatively together as a way forward to publication and exhibition, the members identified a collective theme “Listening in the Anthropocene.” The CPC process led the group to create a tapestry of inquiry and dialogue as a catalyst for presenting alternative views for social and environmental change.