Creative Practice and Embodied Narratives

Beschreibung

“This book reveals the subtle, intrinsic power of creativity, not only in the arts, but as a vital force in how we sense, and make meaning. It reframes creativity as embodied, somatic, and material inquiry - alive in the generative interplay of theory and practice, and essential to transformation.”
Dr Suzanne Osmond, Head of Academic Development and Research, NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art), Australia“In a world that so often slices us into silos, even within ourselves, this book is a timely offering. It is a living inquiry, where creative practice and deep theory entwine revealing a hopeful way of being. A gentle act of self-care and cultural repair.”
Jon Adams, Distinguished Professor, School of Public Health, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
“Barbara Doran reveals how pragmatic creativity can challenge lazy assumptions and dangerous defaults, offering the art of living as a way to meet complexity with care and clarity.”
Rodger Watson, Research Fellow in Innovation Strategy and Design Futures Specialist, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, UK
This book distils thirty years of creative practice into a rigorous inquiry that bridges artmaking, somatic intelligence, and systems thinking. Rooted in the author’s concept of Embodied Matter Exploration (EME), it positions creativity as cultural metabolism, where material, memory, and body co-compose meaning. Each chapter unfolds around an artwork as theory, method, and intervention. Resisting fragmentation, the book integrates autoethnography, semiotics, and living systems thinking.
Academic literature is treated as a dialogical companion. By participating in meaning making and interpretation, readers gain new perceptions of self, nature, and society, and develop critical reflections to challenge pressing issues such as social injustice, environmental sustainability, and technology’s shaping impacts. A thought-provoking read for those interested in systems theory, anthropology, health psychology, neuroscience, and ecology, this practice-led and autoethnographic work opens new paths to possibility studies and creative research.
Barbara Doran is Course Director for the Creative Intelligence and Strategic Innovation program at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia.

This book distils thirty years of creative practice into a rigorous inquiry that bridges artmaking, somatic intelligence, and systems thinking. Rooted in the author’s concept of Embodied Matter Exploration (EME), it positions creativity as cultural metabolism, where material, memory, and body co-compose meaning. Each chapter unfolds around an artwork as theory, method, and intervention. Resisting fragmentation, the book integrates autoethnography, semiotics, and living systems thinking.

Academic literature is treated as a dialogical companion. By participating in meaning making and interpretation, readers gain new perceptions of self, nature, and society, and develop critical reflections to challenge pressing issues such as social injustice, environmental sustainability, and technology’s shaping impacts. A thought-provoking read for those interested in systems theory, anthropology, health psychology, neuroscience, and ecology, this practice-led and autoethnographic work opens new paths to possibility studies and creative research.

Autor*in

Barbara Doran

Themen in »Creative Practice and Embodied Narratives«

Transdisciplinary Research Wisdom Studies Possibility Studies Arts-based Research Creativity Embodied Practice Autoethnography Phenomenological Enquiry Creative Intelligence Critical Thinking

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“This timely and much-needed academic book fills a critical gap in creative practice research. It offers a rare and compelling synthesis of method, theory, and lived inquiry, bringing together material, somatic, and symbolic dimensions of making. Through its integration of autoethnographic practice and theoretical insight, it demonstrates how meaning emerges through body, material, and context, as part of a dynamic system of knowing. Grounded in embodied arts, material thinking, and maker cultures, the book reclaims the symbolic and cultural depth of creative work. It positions creative practice not just as output, but as a rigorous mode of research and cultural intervention. Crucially, it responds to the pressing demands of our time—climate crisis, social complexity, and the need for relational, transformative knowledge. A significant contribution to transdisciplinary scholarship, this book offers creative practitioners and researchers a richly articulated framework for depth, relevance, and change.” (Dr Suzanne Osmond, Head of Academic Development and Research, NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art)

“Walking with Barbara through these pages is fresh air in a world where scholarly depth, imaginative exploration, and the time to reflect feel increasingly under siege. Her work is a dance, where theory and creative practice interweave, each expanding and informing the other. At its heart is a search for expanded ways of attending to life, expressed through a fusion of material and immaterial experience. This is not just a book, but a living inquiry—attuned, embodied, and richly layered with mycelium-like threads that invite deeper connection to our lives. Through artful practice, Barbara draws us into what she calls a “polysymphonic movement with life.” It is rigorous, generous, and ultimately hopeful. As a vital companion to the practical toolkit Creative Reboot, this book deepens the why behind the how, grounding creativity in theory, while opening new ways of seeing, making, and becoming in a world that urgently needs it.” (Jon Adams, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Head (Research), School of Public Health, University of Technology Sydney)

“We have been missing a structured dialogue between the practice of creative intelligence, research theory and the rest of the world.  Too many people are afraid of their own creative practice. This book beckons the reader to value and catalyse the embodied cognition within, and allow it to be expressed in professional settings and the lived world more broadly. It is a lively interaction between the personal and trans-disciplinary professional domains, mineralised by deep research. This book will seed meaning-making in fields beyond traditional domains of creativity for years to come.” (Cecila Warren, Company Director and Strategic Advisor in Creativity and Innovation, iMove Australia)

“Far too often we can find ourselves drifting into futures that are not of our choosing. The metrics we revere affirm rather than challenge the assumptions that underpin ‘how things are’. This unquestioning attitude is not just lazy, it is dangerous. We have a responsibility to use all of the tools available to us, to do otherwise is to be wilfully ignorant.  Barbara Doran shows us the art of living and demonstrates how pragmatic creativity can help us understand complexity and productively engage with the world. This is a book for the citizens of the world who want things to be better for all.” (Rodger Watson, Research Fellow in Innovation Strategy and Design Futures Specialist, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, UK)

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