Image Credit: Beth Hopkins. 

​Today Anna was welcomed into  our weekly drop in.

Some of the interesting themes that arose from the discussion were: 

- Phobia of data (the narrative surrounding this) 
- The title: Electronic Patient Journey system
​(great name indeed!) 
- The parallels with deconstructing and reconstruction in my art practice and with the data (a process of learning for both the machine and I?) 
- Asking questions in multiple ways in order to be more inclusive. 
- The idea of the value model - looking at pros vs cons of documenting narrative in different ways
- Being given the option in the moment to document your own story. 
- Editorial / shorthand/ note taking 
- Offering confirmation that you have understood what someone tells you (a classic teaching technique and also used in metacognition testing) “so what I hear is..... is that correct?” 

Image: Sarah Carpenter darkroom experimentation
​

"…both art and science require us to look closely, and carefully; and both have the potential to reveal a new understanding of our world."
John O'Shea, Associate Director
(Science Engagement), Culture

The thing that I found an exciting about course was the way in which artists were given equal status to scientists, researchers and other professionals.

Artists were seen as valuable for being skilled at asking questions, challenging things, seeing things from fresh perspectives, exploring and expanding upon ideas, and opening up dialogue/ conversation.

The course was broken down into the 4 C's:

• Creativity
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Critical Thinking

In terms of anthropology, these are the skills that drive human evolution, so very important then!

During the course, the idea of learning through failure ("#failbetter") was a message that resonated with me. Productive failure, perseverance and a focus on process (all important elements of my creative practice) are seen as integral for innovation.

The course also touched upon the function of artists in research. I've been exploring this extensively with the Bethlem Gallery within an art in research peer group and through recent projects such as 'Art and Value' and the 'Mental Health and Justice' project.Within this peer group, we have been interrogating the notion of artists being used simply to visualise the work of researchers, rather than being given access to the scientific, academic and clinical space, where we could be of value posing new questions and exploring possible creative solutions.

How does this relate to our project? My work with Anna is looking at redressing the balance between clinician and patient and simultaneously, together, we are exploring the relationship between artist and researcher (a great term used within the course was
"blended approach"). I hope to develop my own practice during this residency by holding this in mind throughout.