Fall 2025
The Arts Research office is offering this five-part workshop to assist participants in framing and articulating
their current practice as research in order to: increase access to diverse funding opportunities; enable
success in collaborative interdisciplinary research; and broaden the audience and impact of their work.
The workshop is open to all Arizona Arts faculty and staff. Sessions will be two hours each, in-person, Fridays October 10 – November 7.
I. INTRODUCTION: Seeing Your Work Through the ‘Practice as Research’ Lens
October 10
Participants will introduce themselves and share a short (3-minute) presentation about a project or idea they are interested in developing into a grant proposal or public-facing initiative. This session sets the stage for peer recognition, networking, and clarification of individual and collective goals.
Discussion Questions:
- What do you make or do in your practice?
- What are you curious to explore or deepen through research?
- What outcomes are you interested in (grant, exhibition, performance, curriculum, gathering)?
Session Outcomes:
- Informal presentation of personal practice and research direction
- Initial articulation of project motivations or questions
- Peer introductions and potential connection points
II. CONTEXT: Locating Your Practice Within the Broader Research Landscape
October 17
Participants will identify the theoretical, cultural, and material contexts of their work, clarifying their
motivations, goals, and values and create an annotated reference list that reflects the depth and
breadth of their inquiry—across mediums, methods, and disciplines.
Discussion Questions:
- What motivates your work?
- How does your practice contribute to your field—or to society more broadly?
- What are your long-term goals as an artist/researcher/educator?
Session Outcomes:
- Drafted reference list relevant to your practice
- Clarified research positioning/identity
- Identification of potential collaborators or gaps in knowledge
III. COLLABORATION: Working Across Disciplines Without Losing Your Focus
October 24
Participants will identifying what they offer—and need—in interdisciplinary collaborations, including
the role of non-knowledge, artistic ambiguity, and embodied practice in research partnerships.
Discussion Questions:
- What can only be achieved in collaboration?
- How can you contribute to the team while honoring your own research goals and methods?
- What are you bringing to the research that isn’t easily expressed in words?
Expected Outcomes:
- Personal ‘collaboration map’ or value profile
- Language for describing your practice to collaborators
- Framework for assembling values-aligned teams
IV. DOCUMENTATION: Making Your Methods, Outcomes, and Impacts Accessible
October 31
Participants will explore systems for data creation and collection, as well as creating archives of
their practice.
Discussion Questions:
- Can your documentation become the final work?
- How does your documentation reflect your practice and research goals?
- What needs to be seen, heard, or archived for others to understand your work?
Key Outcomes:
- Keywords, themes, and categories for organizing project materials
- Personalized data collection and documentation plan
- Clear statement of process and significance
V. IMPACT: Identifying and Reaching Your Audience
November 7
Participants will identify their intended audience, their plans for interactive assessment, and ways to
sustain the momentum of their work as it moves out into the public sphere.
Discussion Questions:
- Who is your audience?
- How does your work impact them?
- How do you assess the significance of that impact?
Expected Outcomes:
- Expanded understanding of ‘publication’ (exhibitions, performances, curriculum, gatherings)
- Audience & impact statements and goals
- Strategies for documentation and feedback integration
Additional Offerings: individualized sessions and samples of annotated references, collaboration pitch, documentation strategy, and audience and impact statements.