The Pop Culture Cluster (PopCC) is launching a new initiative dedicated to Arts-Based Research (ABR) and Arts-Based Educational Research (ABER). This initiative builds on PopCC’s established leadership in creative, public-facing scholarship through its affiliated programs, including the Comics Studies Cluster, Critical Play Lab, and Pop Pedagogies Initiatives.
Arts-based research approaches knowledge creation with, in, and through creative practices such as comics, games, visual art, performance, storytelling, and multimodal experimentation. Rather than treating art as illustration or dissemination alone, ABR understands creative practice as a rigorous method of inquiry—one that foregrounds relationality, embodiment, accessibility, and ethical engagement with communities.
Through this initiative, PopCC is working to build institutional capacity, foster cross-disciplinary networks, and strengthen the theoretical and practical foundations of arts-based (educational) research at UBC, while positioning the university as a global leader in this growing field.
Why Arts-Based Research?
Arts-based research is particularly well suited to addressing complex social, cultural, and political questions that exceed the limits of traditional research methods. It enables scholars to:
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Explore knowledge through creative, embodied, and affective modes of inquiry
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Engage in collaborative and participatory research with communities beyond the academy
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Produce accessible, public-facing scholarship that circulates beyond academic journals
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Challenge extractive and siloed research models through ethical co-creation
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Respond critically to contemporary pressures on research, including the normalization of AI-driven knowledge production, by centring human experience, creativity, and care
At the PopCC, arts-based research is understood not as a single method or discipline, but as a constellation of practices that are interdisciplinary, transmedia, and deeply connected to social justice, decolonial, and accessibility-focused approaches to scholarship.
The PhD Collab: Arts-Based Interventions in Graduate Research
The PhD Collab: Arts-Based Interventions in Graduate Research is a two-year pilot initiative funded by UBC Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (G+PS). It brings together PhD students and faculty from different disciplines to collaboratively develop arts-based research methods and creative dissertation work. The project supports alternative research outputs, public-facing scholarship, and new models of doctoral mentorship and collaboration.
Comics-to-Research Program
The UBC Comics Studies Cluster hosts two types of Comics-to-Research opportunities. Our Graduate Awards are for UBC graduate students in transforming their research into compelling short comics and graphic narratives by collaborating with local cartoonists, comic artists, and graphic illustrators on knowledge mobilization projects. Our Special Calls are posted whenever there is an active research project recruiting for graphic artists.
Get Involved
Faculty, graduate students, artists, and community partners interested in arts-based research are invited to join our mailing list to learn more about upcoming events, collaborations, and opportunities. If you’re interested in partnering on a project or showcasing your research, email pop.culture@ubc.ca.