Imaginal knowing in action research

Abstract

This article explores how imaginal knowing can contribute to learning and action research. I relate this to a need for organizations to learn differently for bringing sustainable results that nourish the world. I position imaginal knowing as a reflexive way of being, which informs awareness beyond language and discourse. An arts-based researcher, my paintings are imaginal reflections of lived experience. I found how engaging with the imaginal enables a more profound presence with that experience. This process, which I refer to as growth-in-connection, can generate unexpected insights and learning. For me, artistically expressing imagination became a reflexive practice to deepen understanding and voice. This article consists of a practice-based strand where I share drawings, paintings, and an inquiry into client work. In the other strand, I explore theoretical ideas from Art-Based Method, Critical thinking, Reflexivity and Action Research.

A Trade-off Between the Artistic Aesthetic Value and Market Value of Paintings With Naïve and Childlike Interest Complex

“…The higher the score, the higher degree of evaluation of these dimensions. With reference to Freeman (2013) and Meer (2022), we measured the imagination reflected in paintings based on four secondary dimensions, that is, surprising or unexpected, mysterious, unknown, and exploratory or probing. As Nelson said, without the story, the painting is nothing (Johnson, 2021).…”