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Barry, Daved; Meisiek, Stefan Seeing More and Seeing Differently: Sensemaking, Mindfulness, and the Workarts 2010 Article Art and Work Art, Workart, Artwork, Organisation Studies, Artistic Labour
Citation Barry, Daved; Meisiek, Stefan 2010 Article Organization Studies Art Workart Artwork Organisation Studies Artistic Labour Art and Work

"Seeing More and Seeing Differently: Sensemaking, Mindfulness, and the Workarts"

by Barry, Daved; Meisiek, Stefan (2010)

Abstract

The past years have seen a marked rise in arts-based initiatives in organizations, a field we term the workarts. In this paper, we review the workarts in light of sensemaking theory, and especially the role of mindfulness within it. We propose that the workarts foster mindfulness by directing attention away from immediate work concerns and towards analogous artifacts. We identify three distinctive workarts movements ? art collection, artist-led intervention, and artistic experimentation. In each movement, we find analogous artifacts that defamiliarize organizational members? habitual ways of seeing and believing, enabling them to make new distinctions and to shift contexts: to see more and see differently. Our review raises a number of questions for the workarts in particular and research on analogical artifacts in general.

Keywords

Art, Workart, Artwork, Organisation Studies, Artistic Labour

Themes

Art and Work

Links to Reference

Citation

Barry, Daved, and Stefan Meisiek. “Seeing More and Seeing Differently: Sensemaking, Mindfulness, and the Workarts.” Organization Studies, vol. 31, no. 11, SAGE Publications Ltd, 2010, pp. 1505–30, doi:10.1177/0170840610380802.

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