Relational Labour in Creative Production

My doctoral researc entitled 'Relational Labour in Creative Production: Producing Inclusion in Art-Science' makes an original contribution to the field of Art‑Science and Technology Studies (ASTS) by:

• Defining creative producing as a methodological and epistemic practice in inter- and transdisciplinary contexts.

• Articulating relational labour as a central component of inclusive creative production.

• Demonstrating that inclusion isn’t incidental but arises from deliberate, values‑led practice that attends to power, labour, and collaboration.

• Providing a conceptual and practical framework for others seeking to design art‑science engagement that diversifies participation and knowledge production.

The full thesis is available from the UNSW Sydney library.

Abstract:

Diversity and inclusion in science engagement are widely recognised as drivers of innovation and more equitable futures. Interdisciplinary approaches offer one pathway to inclusion in science engagement. While existing research offers insights into audience experiences of interdisciplinary art-science initiatives, limited attention has been paid to how creative producing practices that create them might reduce barriers for historically underserved communities. My research therefore asks: What are the labours in creative producing that foster inclusive art-science experiences?

Situated within the emerging field of Art, Science and Technology Studies (ASTS), this practice-led inquiry draws on feminist Science and Technology Studies (STS) theory, creative practice research, and professional experience. Using a reflective methodology, I interrogated creative producing through two in-depth case studies; a complex, large-scale collaboration at the intersection of Indigenous culture, archaeology, and art; and an intimate, one-on-one collaboration exploring disability identity, medical science, and art. Through new methods developed for data analysis with an art-science community of practice, I undertook an iterative, reflexive exploration of my practice within these collaborations. Triangulated through empirical methods that evaluated audience experience of the outcomes, I show how my creative producing practice drives critical knowledge work, disrupting exclusionary modes of production.

In art-science contexts, the experimental nature of creative production is often visible, particularly given practitioners’ focus on process. However, this research reveals that such work is sustained by less visible, but vital, relational labours. These labours are dialogic, emotional, iterative, and reflexive, and they play a central role in supporting equitable knowledge exchange and inclusive engagement. This thesis contributes a practice map that orients these labours within creative producing, and introduces the concept of psychosocial liminality as a lens for understanding inclusion at work in audience experience. Through this, my research brings visibility to the subtle, often-overlooked work that makes inclusive art-science engagement possible. It reframes creative producing as a method grounded in care and reflexivity – one capable of disrupting dominant norms in science communication. In doing so, it offers evidence and conceptual grounding for best practice in the field.

Reference: Crouch, L. (2025). Relational Labour in Creative Production: Producing Inclusion in Art-Science (Doctoral dissertation, UNSW Sydney).