Nurturing Creativity, Collaboration and Friendship across Disciplines

For some academic researchers, the pursuit of knowledge can often follow a solitary path. Our project set out to explore the potential of using creative practice to enhance collaboration. The journey through the three workshops  - one online and two in-person -provides a compelling narrative of how scholars and artists came together, navigated challenges, and fostered a vibrant culture of creativity and collaboration.

This third and final blog post explores the reflections, highlights, and evolution of the project as captured in three anonymised online surveys of the participants, showcasing the transformative impact of collective endeavour.

Reflections on the Workshops:

The journey began with a sense of anticipation as participants gathered for the initial online workshop in October 2023. Coupled with the willingness to engage in meaningful collaboration, there was quite a bit of nervousness about the unfamiliar territory of creative sessions and filming, and some fundamental questions about what the project would involve, what the film would capture.

Despite our best efforts, the online meeting wasn’t really the right environment to address these concerns and the post-survey workshop revealed lingering insecurities. However, as the project progressed to the second workshop, held in person in November 2023, reflections revealed a shift in dynamics. Participants were uniformly enthusiastic about the creative sessions, highlighting the sense of community forged through shared experiences and laughter, and the liberation of shared play:

"I was a little apprehensive about the creative elements of the workshop, and I expected to be taken out of my comfort zone at times- which was certainly the case. But I felt like they really helped us to bond as a group, and everyone seemed a lot more relaxed with each other on the second day. It also revealed how solitary and isolating my own research practices can be, and has made me motivated to try out other creative aspects of research in the future. "

The anticipation of being filmed had been a major source of trepidation for everyone, but as one participant noted, this changed over time:

“During the first workshop, the camera and microphone really inhibited my responses. I felt like I didn’t know how to act like a human—where do my limbs naturally go? How do I stand normally? A constant thought of ‘don’t say something stupid. Don’t embarrass yourself’ running through my head. But by the second workshop, I almost forgot that Charlotte and the camera were there at times. I felt like I didn’t have to ‘act’ for the camera—the exception being when we were shooting our scenes—and could just engage with everyone how I normally would.”

The experience of filming in the Brotherton Library was memorable for the reaction of library users to the costumes and coordinated sequences, and for our ability to communicate in silence through gesture alone – skills honed by the creative sessions that required close observation and awareness of one another. The professionalism of the film crew, coupled with Charlotte's clear vision, created a supportive environment where participants could express themselves authentically. Over time, the camera became less of an obstacle and more of a medium for creative expression.

The second in-person workshop consolidated the bonds within the group, allowing us to share our research experiences in more personal ways, to show vulnerability and openness to change. The fusion of academic rigour with creative expression proved to be a potent catalyst for innovation and connection. This was expressed in the co-writing exercise, in which we worked together to create a shared story of the project that has fed into the film’s narrative:

‘I was really surprised how productive the co-writing session was, especially because it was so spontaneous. I thought we won't be able to do much in 5 minutes, but it turned out we could!’

The surveys show that being part of the project was hugely enjoyable, the creative sessions and purposeful collaborative work across national and disciplinary boundaries, as well as those of academic hierarchies, gave us a sense of belonging and connection summed up in the word cloud:

But the fact that our collaboration was enormous fun wasn’t trivial: it was central to creating an environment in which we could all be comfortable sharing our ideas without feeling exposed.

The project has something to offer the academic community as a model for interdisciplinary collaboration, and for working with creative partners. We have much to learn from the world of performance, where even apparently outlandish suggestions are accepted with attention and generosity, mistakes are embraced as a source of inspiration as well as merriment, and hierarchies are broken down through shared play.  Our experience shows that researchers flourish when they can bring their whole, embodied selves to the discussion and when they know that their ideas and contributions are valued within a supportive team.  Working with creative partners like Charlotte and Wiebke is more generative when they are seen as central to the project and their expertise is given the space to challenge and change entrenched attitudes and practices.

A Collective YES!

In the end, the journey of collaborative filmmaking stands as a testament to the transformative power of collective endeavour. Through shared experiences and mutual support, the participants not only enriched their research practices but also forged bonds that transcend disciplinary and national boundaries. We move on from the project with a resounding affirmation: YES to new opportunities, YES to collaboration, and YES to our identities as engaged academics with important stories to tell.

The project team consists of:

• Wiebke Acton (University of Leeds)
• Louise Earnshaw (University of Leeds)
• Maša Mrovlje (University of Leeds)
• Corinne Painter (University of Leeds)
• Ingrid Sharp (University of Leeds)
• Judit Acsády (HUN-REN Centre for Social Sciences)
• Charlotte Bill (Clapham Film Unit)
• Nicole Bögelein (University of Cologne)
• Mary McAuliffe (University College Dublin)