An Aesthetic Epistemology – Methodological Perspective of Arts-Based Research in the Field of Art Therapy
Abstract
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to indicate the epistemological methodological perspective Arts-Based Research (ABR) applied in art therapy.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The research problem focuses on the question of what are the foundations of knowledge in arts-based research projects applied in art therapy? The explanations are based on the theory of analysis using specialized literature on the subject.
THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: Art-based research is characterised by methodological hybridisation and aesthetic epistemology, which assumes sensory-embodied, emotional and relational cognition. The key theory for this epistemology is the concept of translation and the model of the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC).
RESEARCH RESULTS: The conclusion drawn from the considerations assumes that the intersubjective research perspective leads to understanding the inner self of the person expressed through idiomatic artistic expression and discovering what is not accessible by other methods. This allows to formulate the final conclusion that synergistic research practices combining art and science enable a deeper understanding of human nature, facilitate positive changes and therapeutic transformation, contribute to the development of arts therapy, deepen social phenomena, and expand the possibilities of scientific knowledge to include aspects of human experience that go beyond logical reasoning and verbal expression.
CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND APPLICABLE VALUE OF RESEARCH: The identification of the most significant assumptions of aesthetic epistemology does not exhaust the topic and requires further research. The study presented in this article expands the methodological perspective for both art therapy students and professionals, not only locally but also globally.
References
Barone, T. i Eisner, E.W. (2012). Arts Based Research. SAGE.
Bryda, G. i Martini, N. (2016). W stronę ontologii pola badań jakościowych. Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej, 12(4), 24–40. https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8069.12.4.02
Bielecka -Prus, J. (2020). Badacz jako artysta, artysta jako badacz. Założenia metodologiczne działań artystycznych w procesie badawczym ABR (art-based-research). Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej, 16(2), 16-34. http://dx.doi.org/10.18778/1733-8069.16.2.02
Chilton, G. i Scotti, V. (2014). Snipping, gluing, writing: The properties of collage as an arts-based research practice in art therapy. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 31(2), 54–61.
Conde, C.F. Arts-Based Methodologies: A summary. Public Health Agency of Canada. https://www. prevnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Arts-Based-Methodologies.pdf
Conrad, D. i Beck, J. (2015). Towards articulating an arts-based research paradigm: Growing deeper. The UNESCO Observatory Multi-Disciplinary Journal in the Arts, 5(1), 1–26. https://www.unescoejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/5-1-5-CONRAD.pdf
Denzin, N.K. i Lincoln, Y.S. (2009). Wprowadzenie. Dziedzina i praktyka badań jakościowych (K. Podemski, tłum.). W: N.K. Denzin i Y.S. Lincoln (red.), Metody badań jakościowych (t. 1, s. 19–75). Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Dew, A. i Smith, L. (2025). Using arts-based methods in disability research. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 26(2). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-26.2.4354
Finley, S. (2009). Badania posługujące się sztuką. Rewolucyjna pedagogika oparta na performansie (M. Podgórski, tłum.). W: N.K. Denzin i Y.S. Lincoln (red.), Metody badań jakościowych (t. 2, s. 57–79). Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Gerber, N., Bryl, K., Potvin, N. i Blank, C.A. (2018). Arts-Based Research approaches to studying mechanisms of change in the creative arts therapies. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2076. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02076
Gerber, N. i Myers-Coffman, K. (2018). Translation in arts-based research. W: P. Leavy (red.), Handbook of Arts-Based Research (s. 587–607). Guilford Press.
Hervey, L.W. (2000). Artistic inquiry in dance/movement therapy: Creative research alternatives. Charles C. Thomas.
Jung, C.G. (2009). The Red Book. Philemon Foundation i W.W. Norton & Co.
Kaiser, D. i Kay, L. (2016). Arts-Based Research: The basics for art therapists. W: D.E. Gussak i M.L. Rosal (red.), The Wiley Handbook of Arts Therapy (s. 663–672). Wiley Blackwell.
Klorer, P.G. (2014). My story, your story, our stories: A community art-based research project. Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 31(2), 54–61.
Kosińska, M. (2016). Między autonomią a epifanią. Art based research, badania jakościowe i teoria sztuki. Sztuka i Dokumentacja, 14, 12–27.
Kubinowski, D. (2013). Book review: Barone, Tom and Elliot W. Eisner. 2012. Arts Based Research. Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington, DC: Sage Publications. Qualitative Sociology Review, 9(2), 64–67. https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.09.2.07
Lafrenière, D i Cox, S.M. (2012). If you can call it a poem: Toward a framework for the assessment of arts based
works. Qualitative Research 13(3), 318–336. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794112446104
Lapum, J.L. (2018). Deepening the mystery of arts‐based research in the health sciences. W: Handbook of Arts-Based Research (s. 526–545). The Guilford Press.
Leavy, P. (2018a). Introduction to arts-based research. W: P. Leavy (red.), Handbook of Arts-Based Research (s. 3–21). The Guilford Press.
Leavy, P. (2018b). Metoda spotyka sztukę. Praktyki badawcze oparte na sztuce (K Stanisz i J. Kucharska, tłum.). Narodowe Centrum Kultury.
Malchiodi, C.A. (2018). Creative arts therapies and arts‐based research. W: P. Leavy (red.), Handbook of Arts-Based Research (s. 68–87). Guilford Press.
Manders, E. i Chilton, G. (2013). Translating the essence of dance: Rendering meaning in artistic inquiry of the creative arts therapies. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 14(16).
McNiff, S. (1998). Art-Based Research. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
McNiff, S. (2014). Presentations that look and feel like the arts in therapy: Keeping creative tension with psychology. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Arts Therapy, 9(1), 89–94.
Mohr, E. (2014). Posttraumatic growth in youth survivors of a disaster: An Arts-Based Research project. Art Therapy: Journal of Art Therapy Association, 31(4), 155–162.
Viega, M. (2021). “Loving me and my butterfly wings”: Arts-Based Research and hip-hop remixing in music therapy. Journal of Music Therapy, 58(1), 67–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/3734
Viega, M. i Forinash, M. (2016). Arts-Based Research in music therapy. W: B.L. Wheeler i K.M. Murphy (red.), Music therapy research third edition (s. 491–504). Barcelona Publishers.
Copyright (c) 2025 HORIZONS OF EDUCATION
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright to their work while granting the journal the right of first publication. The work will be simultaneously licensed under a CC BY-ND license, which permits others to share the work with proper credit given to the author and the original publication in this journal.
- Authors may enter into additional, non-exclusive agreements for the distribution of the published version of the work (e.g., posting it in an institutional repository or publishing it in another journal), provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged.
We allow and encourage authors to share their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on personal websites) both before and during the submission process, as this can foster beneficial exchanges and lead to earlier and increased citations of the published work. (See The Effect of Open Access). We recommend using any of the following academic networking platforms:
