Shared Authorship in Research through Art, Design, and Craft

Abstract

Conducting research through creative and artistic practices is becoming an established approach used to advance knowledge in various domains of the Arts. Although this approach tends to highlight the voice of the author through the first-person singular, practitioner-researchers working in the fields of art, design, and craft often involve other stakeholders in their practices, such as lay people, workshop participants, workshop co-organizers, other practitioners, and other informants. In some cases, these stakeholders can be said to attain the status of co-authors since their contribution not only informs the development of the practice but also influences the direction of the research. In this paper, we examine what other voices contribute to the production of knowledge through not always accounted forms of authorship. By discussing the inclusion of various stakeholders as co-authors at different stages of the investigative process, we explore the spectrum of shared authorship in research through art, design, and craft. The discussion draws on five research cases conducted by the authors of this paper. We conclude that examining shared authorship champions the emergence of more inclusive research practices, which not only propel the diversification of distinct ways of knowing but also value their operational role in the generation of new knowledge.