Improvising in the field: investigating practices of spontaneous creativity as engaged for society, community, and wellbeing

Improvisation is a complex generative phenomenon present in numerous forms of art-making in performance and participatory practices. Beyond its aesthetic capacities, improvisation has been theorised recently as a methodology of relations which is highly social and interpersonally contingent. On this basis, it has been utilised in recent years beyond the immediate arena of performance and participation by specialist arts professionals for diverse purposes across social, political, economic, and health domains. Despite diverse arenas of application, there is but a small body of research which focuses explicitly on the pragmatics of improvising in these contexts – the methods, methodologies, motivations, and mechanisms of change emergent when improvising “in the field”.

This small-scale independent project will identify and begin to 'map' practices of improvisation as engaged across social, community, and wellbeing contexts. It will explore experiences and perspectives of practitioners within the arts and culture sector who employ improvisational methods and methodologies in arts-based interventions, participatory creative activities, and community-centred practice towards explicit social, community, and wellbeing-oriented goals.

It will focus on how, where, and why practitioners utilise improvisation in socially oriented work, as well as their perspectives on impact for various beneficiary groups.