Arts-based methods in transdisciplinary research: Towards a conceptual framework

Arts-based approaches, through participatory and co-creative processes, offer particular ways to engage with challenges associated with inter- and transdisciplinary research projects.Arts-based approaches (ABA) are increasingly used in transdisciplinary research to complement traditional ways of knowledge production as well as to strengthen the public communication of scientific knowledge. However, a practice-oriented, methodological framework is still lacking. This article aims to strengthen the basis for meaningful systematization and integration of ABA into transdisciplinary research processes by suggesting a framework for arts-based methods (ABM) currently used or described in the community of inter- and transdisciplinary research. The article explores relevant epistemological foundations of ABA before suggesting a framework of ABM with four conceptual dimensions: 1. levels of bodily involvement, 2. artistic role constellations, 3. project phases, 4. artistic media. We complement this with an exemplary application of this framework to two instances of ABM within a transdisciplinary research project. The article provides both conceptual insights and an initial framework for the reflective use of ABM in transdisciplinary contexts.