Becoming Creative Researcher at Magic Acorns

Written by Dr Jessica Pitt, Creative Researcher and Co-Director at Magic Acorns

This photo was taken in early spring this year as I sat in our newly furnished creative research space upstairs at Magic Acorns.

It felt like a significant moment; we (Magic Acorns directors) had been thinking about how research and scholarly activity might have a physical presence, as well as an embodied one, at Magic Acorns. As a strand of ‘Building Our Belonging’ – an Arts Council England funded project – the area of Creative Research at Magic Acorns has started life. The vision is to embed research physically in our space and philosophically within our thinking and activity.

All the team actively inquire and reflect as part of our practice. Co-creative work – making-with others – is research. Through sensitive responses, following young children’s playful engagement with materials, in an immersive environment, ways of knowing and being in the world emerge in these shared moments. Children, adults and artists follow lines of inquiry from one moment to the next.

Having the opportunity to be in this assemblage – thinking, making and inquiring in amongst the activity is how I am being Creative Researcher. I am already very aware of what immersing myself in practice brings to me in this role:

Ideas and theories come to life when being in the moment with very young children.
Watching and giving close attention to young children’s free play with materials and objects is fascinating, it stimulates questions and informs my understanding of music as a thing in the world.
Reflecting with artists brings fresh insight about practice to deepen my theoretical and conceptual understanding.
Young children’s time and space must be experienced to be truly understood.
Hanging out with young children helps me gain understanding about music and the ways they express and know it.

I do however ask myself what can a researcher bring to these encounters that are already so richly generative and exemplary of research-creation.

Encounters that are beyond words in what they communicate and stand for themselves; express everything, they do not require someone to write or speak words about them. So, I find myself wondering how best to be a creative researcher that can do justice to this work.

At the moment I continue to think, read and write about episodes within the regular family group sessions that I am drawn to, moments that connect with my thinking, feeling, reading and questioning. I am trusting in this process as I explore what creative research can be.

In April and May I have been speaking about musical play to a variety of audiences one of which took place on 8th May: ‘Encouraging musical play in early years conference’ organised by the Music Education Hubs East Midlands. The conference is part of a Youth Music-funded project called: Musical Exchanges.

Dr Clare Seymour of diversitybuds shared following piece in response to the session. Thank you Clare for writing this response. It is an affirmation that I should trust in the ongoing process of becoming the Magic Acorns Creative Researcher – staying with the trouble of not-knowing exactly, but being in and with the process of thinking, feeling and making-with very young children.

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