Participatory Arts Research Methodologies with Helen Berry and CKM
Written by Sophie Kendrick
June 2026
What does co-production in research led by communities look and feel like? How is it valued and how can participatory arts support conversations about this?
These are questions CKM explored as part of our 2025 Gathering in Inverness, collaborating with Helen Berry, who is working on her PhD at The Binks Hub, on a session which was in itself developed and reflected on with a small working group of network members with different experiences in rural and island Scotland.
We wanted to take this collaborative approach as partners with Helen to help inform and consider how academic research processes could involve more community perspectives. The role of co-production and creative, culturally embedded research approaches in Scotland has been a question for members of the network from the very beginning. For example, the vast majority of Highlands and Islands community research projects funded by the Ideas Fund - which CKM also coordinates - employed creative research techniques. We’ve also held several themed conversations on the topic through our Community of Practices (see some of the Padlets here), and it’s also been something we’ve discussed directly in both of our Gatherings.
Community Knowledge Matters Network Gathering, Inverness (11 November 2025) - Photo: Alexander Williamson.
Indeed, Gathering attendees this year reflected that creative methods can make conducting, understanding and applying research more accessible to a wider range of people, including young people. Since young people are an underrepresented and often dismissed group within a research and policy space, creative methodologies can present a unique opportunity to platform youth voices. Read more about the Gathering discussion tables here.
Helen’s workshop complimented the Gathering’s conversations wonderfully, proving to be a space for solidarity and support for participants hailing from a variety of roles within the realm of co-production. Within the workshop, participants shared their perspectives and experiences of co-production, both verbally and through visual and written expressions. As a participant myself, I felt encouraged both by Helen and by other participants to explore varying mediums of expression. For me, using visual metaphors as a tool for explaining my perception of the value of co-production proved to be incredibly useful and thought provoking. Visual methods assisted me in explaining the nuances of my thoughts and experiences around co-production. It also challenged me to approach my ideas about co-production from both explanatory and curious perspectives, which helped me clarify exactly how and why I value co-production.
The workshop led to a beautiful piece of art by Jenny Capon which captured the main themes and threads from the workshop and the Gathering. This artistic representation of the conversations had during Helen’s workshop makes research around co-production and its value more accessible and engaging. Workshop participants shared that they greatly enjoyed the workshop and would like to attend similar events in the future, suggesting there was reciprocal value to be found within the workshop and its outputs.
From Participatory Arts and Co-production: Visual Minutes [Illustration]
By Community Knowledge Matters, the Binks Hub, and Helen Berry, 2025. Illustrated by Jenny Capon.
As a network, we are excited to hear how this research develops, how our approach of involving a working group may inspire different ways of approaching future PhD projects and excited to share the artwork and learning back to the network and communities in Scotland.