Finding creative voice: Applying arts-based research in the context of biodiversity conservation

Abstract

The integration of creative arts-based methods into scientific research offers a host of advantages, including the ability to capture the complex texture of lived experience, explore interconnections between nature and culture, support nonhierarchical relations, and communicate insights in engaging and empowering new ways. In this article, we describe a new method-CreativeVoice-integrating the creative arts and qualitative research, which we developed and applied in a context of pursuing community-based conservation of agricultural biodiversity. We developed CreativeVoice as an integrative method to help us understand the local contexts, cultures, and perspectives from community members of different ages and genders, in two contrasting farming communities in Oaxaca, Mexico. CreativeVoice effectively adapts and extends the Photovoice method so as to retain its benefits but address some of its limitations. This includes allowing participants to choose a genre of artistic expression connected to their own specific individual or cultural contexts and providing the capacity to move beyond capturing present-day realities to directly bring in connections to the past and visions for the future. This article describes both the CreativeVoice approach and the significant value of integrating arts-based methods into research for advancing sustainability.