Artist-researchers on the Margins...beyond the PhD

What is it about?

In this article, Sophie Hope and I reflect on the career trajectories of 15 practice-based PhD graduates who told their stories on a podcast series we produced in 2021. Our interviewees completed practice-based PhDs in English Universities between 1992 and 2020 in a range of arts and humanities disciplines, such as creative writing, community media, contemporary art practice, performance art and music. Using the theoretical concepts of communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991), social sites of practice (Schatzki, 2002) and symbolic capital (Bourdieu, 1989), we explore diverse understandings and experiences of research and/as practice, and trace the trials and tribulations of making a living as a practice-researcher after graduating with a Doctorate of Philosophy. We consider how and when practitioners identify as researchers and vice versa and whether it is practicable to inhabit both fields at once. Drawing reflexively on this evidence, we look at the meanings of practice as research, the ways in which practitioners value the intellectual rigour of doing a PhD and how this affects their relationship to their practice as they move through life. The subjective narratives in our findings shed light on the spaces, support structures and resources needed or indeed lacking after completing a PhD.

Featured Image

Photo by Matthieu Comoy on Unsplash

Photo by Matthieu Comoy on Unsplash

Why is it important?

We think it is important to think about these challenges and needs because creative practice-based PhDs are often an uncomfortable fit in academic institutions, and outcomes clearly result in other non-academic or near-academic career trajectories (Slager, 2021). Given the relative lack of literature on career trajectories for graduates of practice-based PhDs, this article provides an initial insight into how the process can influence, in positive and negative ways, the careers of creative practitioners.

Perspectives