Life Story Mandala: An Arts-based Research Method: Journeys through the North and South

In this research, which constitutes the third cycle of a research process, arts-based research (ABR) tools will be employed and further developed to facilitate reflection and explore embodied learning. Life Story Mandalas have been implemented successfully as potent cultural probes in various global contexts for facilitating nuanced understandings of communities. This research cycle will explore the role of lapwork in Northern traditions of embodied learning. The aim of the research cycle is to explore the role of improvisation in contributing to learning processes that come about through lapwork, and whether improvisation holds educational potential for art, design and arts-based practices in research fields, including the Arctic. The research methodology is underpinned by an ABR strategy that draws on the method of Life Story Mandala, collective autoethnography and observations. The artist-researchers use multimedia and textile art techniques, as well as storytelling and documentation for collecting the data.