International perspectives on the development of research-guided practice in community-based arts in health (CFP, Special Issue of Multi-disciplinary Research in the Arts)

Call for Papers:  International perspectives on the development of research-guided practice in community-based arts in health

UNESCO Observatory, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, Early Learning Centre. The University of Melbourne Refereed E-Journal, Multi-disciplinary Research in the Arts. ISSN 1835-2776.

Guest Editors: Mike White, Senior Research Fellow for Arts in Health, Centre for Medical Humanities and St. Chad’s College, Durham University, UK;  board member, National Alliance for Arts, Health & Wellbeing UK; author Arts Development in Community Health: a social tonic. Professor Sarah Atkinson, Department of Geography, Fellow of Wolfson Research Institute and Director of Centre for Medical Humanities, Durham University, UK. Margret Meagher, Executive Director, Arts & Health Australia; Adjunct Senior Lecturer / Research Academic, College of Fine Arts, University of NSW; Distinguished Fellow, Society for the Arts in Healthcare, U.S.A.

Health has become a recurrent topic in discussion of the role of the arts in society, fuelled by a growing body of research into links between culture and flourishing.  In community arts in particular there has been a widespread development of projects addressing health issues.  This is a distinct area of activity operating mainly outside of acute healthcare settings and is characterised by the use of participatory arts to promote health.  There are indications that this work is developing in response to health needs of communities in differing cultures and healthcare systems around the world, but so far there is little mutual knowledge or connection of the work at an international level.

This issue of the e-journal aims to draw together well-researched case studies of community-based arts in health projects from different parts of the globe.  Each case study should explain the motivation for the work undertaken and its sensitivity to context and cultural diversity, the partnership structures and ethos developed in its delivery, and the research methodologies used.  Submissions are particularly invited that reflect multidisciplinary knowledge of the application of arts development  to health and flourishing  communities from the perspectives of applied arts, public health, anthropology, social geography, education and other disciplines.

The Guest Editors would also welcome submissions that demonstrate effective international collaborations in community-based arts in health with consideration of the values, principles and research frameworks that inform the work.

Researchers and practitioners wishing to propose papers to this issue should submit an abstract of up to 300 words directly to Guest Editor, Margret Meagher by Friday, August 31^st, 2012. The editors will make a selection of around twelve papers which have the potential to form a coherent issue on this theme and contact the authors in mid-September.  Full papers should be submitted to Naomi Berman Associate Editor and cc Margaret Meagher by 31^st October 2012 for publication by the end of December 2012.