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Yes/ And Podcast #1. Origins & Intersections Jemma Llewellyn talks with Hilary Bradbury and Bill Torbert.

There’s a new Yes/ And podcast series for AR+. The inaugural podcasts are by Jemma Llewellyn, Ph.D. Cand., who hosts us in getting underway in a conversation with Hilary Bradbury and Bill Torbert.

Jemma shares the backstory and introduces the inaugural podcast:

“Although the conversations in each podcast episodes are inspired by the ART 2022 Collogue entitled, A Vital Alternative to Conventional Social Science at This Time of Eco-Social Crisis, there is another story that comes before. And it includes what I can only describe as radical generosity, the spirit of reciprocity, and curiosity. 

My journey with AR+ started when I came across the website after doing an internet search for “Action Research Projects”. It’s amazing what algorithms are at play when you’re in a different country. Although I had engaged in Action Research during my Master’s program in the UK, I had never come across AR+ until I began my PhD program in 2020 at the University of Guelph, Canada.  I was involved in a research methods course project.

Instantly I wanted to get involved in any way possible and I signed up for the AMICABLE coLAB online for ARTists with Drs. Alastair Wyllie, Cynthia Mitchell with Ruth Förster and Hilary Bradbury. This is where I would say I first encountered this feeling of radical generosity not only from the intergenerational diological space I was participating in but also the from  how I was able to participate. As a PhD student in the arts, especially as an international student in Canada, there is limited access to funding. Still I was able to participate in the coLAB because of my skills, knowledge, and experiences in lieu of a financial contribution. That felt like a true gift.

In the spirit of curiosity and reciprocity, the inaugural podcasts were born out of conversations that emerged after the coLAB, but related to questions that were percolating in my own reflection work. What is the relationship between the social sciences and improvisation? How might we learn from each others practices? Where might the intersections be?

In this first episode, Origins and Intersections, participation is a key theme alongside how we can build relational spaces through dynamic forms of improvised practices that are based on generosity, reciprocity, and curiosity. Participation means here not having all the answers and leaning into the uncomfortableness and unknowningness of surprise. Holding oneself accountable for your own learning that is taking place and bold steps into storytelling difference with care. Bill and Hilary’s future forming practices bring along with them the critical learning edge from the past. They invite us all to be more care-fully aware of the creative libertory possibilities of action research for transformation (ART).

I am grateful to be part of this truly awe inspiring conversation. I hope listeners will be equally as moved into contemplative actions in their own practice, research, and/ or scholarship.”

Listen to podcast here! See also the Podcast TAB at AR+ | ActionResearchPlus.com.

FYI: You’ll find this and future podcasts on soundcloud.