A Credo for
The Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Research
by Cheryl McLean
as delivered in the keynote address, Creative
Arts in Interdisciplinary Research,
A Pond of Interdisciplinary Opportunity,
at the Arts Based Research Network Symposium,
Acadia University, Wolfville, N.S.,
October 5, 2012.
Photos from book Creative Arts in Research for Community and Cultural Change, Detselig Temeron Press
I dream for the
creative arts in interdisciplinary research a credo. I believe we will continue
to share our own lives, our experiences for witness and the lives and
experiences of others, and that we will embody our stories without shame, take
pride in our identities and unique histories, teach through our sufferings and
inspire through our celebrations. We
will have the freedom to speak without fear, embody and re-illuminate the human
story, stage human vulnerability, foster citizenship and give voice to the
silenced, the oppressed and the marginalized whether from a stage, an art
gallery, around a kitchen table, a study circle or from the streets of our
inner cities.
We will continue
to support one another and build our research capital, keep telling the stories
of our work, communicate our scholarship outside the academy and across
disciplines in a multitude of creative and accessible ways to the broadest
possible audiences.
We will
endeavour to meet often and in person around the most critical needs
facing our communities at home and around the world and offer creative and life
giving ideas for healthy, clean and safe environments while creating spaces for
human expression and connection that foster acceptance and acknowledge people as
human beings of value.
I
believe through the creative arts in interdisciplinary research and
practice we can create opportunities and communities for change and together
accomplish the extraordinary.
Cheryl McLean is Executive Editor and Publisher of The International Journal of The Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice IJCAIP and Editor of the books "Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Research, Inquiries for Hope and Change" and "Creative Arts in Research for Community and Cultural Change", Detselig Temeron Press, 2010, 2011 and "Creative Arts in Humane Medicine", Brush Education Inc. (for release 2013).
