The Creative Potential of Evolving Constraints in Peer-to-Peer Reciprocal Coaching

The Creative Potential of Evolving Constraints in Peer-to-Peer Reciprocal Coaching - A Three-way Investigation
Abstract
How can the use of evolving creative constraints in interdisciplinary peer-to-peer reciprocal coaching contribute to the effective development of creative and creative-critical projects?
This presentation is a report of the experience and outcomes of the project ‘The Creative Potential of Evolving Constraints in Peer-to-Peer Reciprocal Coaching: A Three-way Investigation’, supported by IMC seed funding. The project was designed to gauge the utility of evolving creative constraints in the development of projects by the three participants (referred to as ‘makers’): a songwriter and doctoral researcher (Høybye), an academic video-essayist (O’Leary), and a dance artist and filmmaker (Hallager Andersen).
The term creative constraints refers to deliberately adopted restrictions to choices in a given creative or creative-critical project. Constraint-based procedures are commonly employed and recognised as generative in artistic and design contexts, but they are also used in experimental academic work and have obvious relevance for practice research projects in an academic context. The modifier evolving refers to the adaptation of a constraint or set of constraints, or the application of further/different constraints, as a project proceeds, i.e., in response to work in progress. Three-way Investigation employed peer-to-peer reciprocal coaching to feed into the development of the three makers’ projects through the generation of evolving (sets of) constraints. This reciprocal coaching was peer to peer because each maker was expert in their own field and engaged in a project being offered for discussion and feedback even as each offered formative feedback on the other two makers’ projects.
The presentation will set out the design of Three-way Investigation, and its theoretical coordinates. It will assess the utility of evolving constraint-setting by sharing the progress made in the four makers’ projects over a the series of peer-to-peer coaching meetings.
About the speakers
- Alan O’Leary, Associate Professor in Film and Media in Digital Contexts, School of Communication and Culture, Dept of Media and Journalism Studies, Aarhus University
- Martin Høybye, PhD Student, School of Culture and Society, Dept of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, Aarhus University
- Marie Hallager Andersen, dance artist and filmmaker
IMC Tuesday Seminar held May 30th, 2023.
Note: Talk is trimmed to ensure anonymity of informants.