The Experiential Knowledge Project

Examining the philosophical foundations of experience-based knowledge in the context of art and design research.

Leading research

The Experiential Knowledge Project was held between 2005-2007 as a preparatory project.

Project aims

The aim of the project was to coordinate resources leading to the establishment of a major AHRC-funded research project Non-traditional Knowledge and Communication.

The team was made up of:

• Prof Michael Biggs
• Dr Kristina Niedderer
• Malcolm Ferris

The project examined the philosophical foundations of experiential knowledge in the context of art and design research, as well as the area variously known as practice-based, practice-led, or studio-based research.

It built on the successful Research into Practice Conference series and other research by the TVAD research group.

Project background

One of the core problems in the area of experiential knowledge concerns the embodiment of knowledge that is not linguistically expressed.

A sub-set of this is embodiment that cannot be linguistically expressed. Both forms of embodiment constitute an important part of the processes and outcomes of art and design practice and research.

Discourses on the combination of word and image are concerned with whether experiential knowledge in its various forms could or should predominate in research, rather than the explicit/cognitive knowledge that is traditionally expected.

The notion of research as construed by universities and research funding agencies seems to emphasise linguistic communication over the visual.

This problem can be found in regulations concerning the inclusion and role of artefacts in doctoral submissions.

The appearance of this debate indicates the issue of experiential and embodied knowledge is of fundamental importance in the discipline, but it has not received a rigorous treatment in art and design.

The Research into Practice cluster, including the Experiential Knowledge Project, addressed this shortcoming.

Outcomes

The project investigated:

• the understanding of knowledge in current definitions of research in order to examine whether they prioritise certain forms of knowledge and exclude other kinds of knowledge.
• different concepts of knowledge including their different modes of communication in order to create a concept map relating different kinds of knowledge and knowledge communication.
• the research exhibition as one prominent means of knowledge communication for art and design.
• new knowledge in the creative disciplines through the establishment of the experiential knowledge conference.  

The implications of verbalisation were also examined including:

• are verbal descriptions of experiential knowledge adequate?
• are we asking the right questions?