Studio practice for intercultural understanding: Singaporean creativity

Authors

Keywords:

Creativity, Culture, Verbatim Theatre, Arts-based Research, Improvisation

Abstract

This article considers the possibilities held by engaging in culturally conscious studio practice within research. The authors draw on a studio-based case study from Singapore which highlights the importance and opportunities of intercultural approaches to deepen understandings of both creativity and culture. Reflecting on this performative phase of a multi-sited international study into creativity in education and industry in Asia Pacific, the authors unpack the development of intercultural understanding made possible by engaging in collaborative, co-creative, arts-based studio practice. In doing so, we aim to demonstrate how “Cross-cultural understanding is core to a nuanced appreciation of creativity and its socio-cultural functions” (Harris 2017, p. 123).

Author Biographies

Anne Harris, RMIT

ANNE HARRIS (PhD) is a Vice Chancellor’s Principal Research Fellow at RMIT University, an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, and an Honorary Research Fellow at Nottingham University (UK). Harris is the director of Creative Agency, a transdisciplinary research lab at RMIT University. Harris researches gender, creativity, and performance ethnography, and has worked professionally as a playwright, dramaturg, teaching artist.

Kelly McConville, RMIT

Kelly McConville (M.Ed) is an educator, researcher and PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne, and an Associate Researcher at RMIT. A published author in the fields of research-based theatre and education, her research interests lie in how performance can be used in a variety of ways to interrogate and communicate aspects of cultural and professional identity.

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Published

2020-11-21 — Updated on 2020-11-22

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