The Elements of Making: a Social Practice Perspective for Everyday Creators

Risner, I., Gauntlett, D. and Culpepper, M. 2022. The Elements of Making: a Social Practice Perspective for Everyday Creators. Creativity Studies. 15 (2), pp. 590-605. https://doi.org/10.3846/cs.2022.14489

TitleThe Elements of Making: a Social Practice Perspective for Everyday Creators
TypeJournal article
AuthorsRisner, I., Gauntlett, D. and Culpepper, M.
AbstractIn contrast to behavioural approaches that attempt to explain creativity, social practice theories commonly emphasize aspects of the material world that shape and reproduce how people engage with them. How might social practice theory clarify how making affects millions of hobbyist creators – and what makes making matter to them? This article examines the theoretical work tying creativity to social practice. It then reports on a project in which small groups of everyday creators in the United Kingdom (n = 95) gathered in workshops to discuss their experiences and opinions regarding the materials, meanings, and competences of making. A model-making research method instigated peer discussion revealing both individual and shared accounts of practice. The data indicated that participants, regardless of practice, experienced creating as an ongoing performance providing many benefits that promote personal and societal transformation. With our graphic iteration of the elements of making, we assert that the meanings these makers attached to their various do-it-yourself practices were underscored by the materials they worked with and the competences they built in creating.
KeywordsPolitical Science and International Relations
Sociology and Political Science
Cultural Studies
JournalCreativity Studies
Journal citation15 (2), pp. 590-605
ISSN2345-0479
2345-0487
Year2022
PublisherVilnius Gediminas Technical University
Publisher's version
License
CC BY 4.0
File Access Level
Open (open metadata and files)
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.3846/cs.2022.14489
Publication dates
Published12 Sep 2022
Published in print12 Sep 2022

Permalink - https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/vz5xy/the-elements-of-making-a-social-practice-perspective-for-everyday-creators


Share this

Usage statistics

97 total views
70 total downloads
These values cover views and downloads from WestminsterResearch and are for the period from September 2nd 2018, when this repository was created.