Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Number 2 | Página 55

Voice, Art, and Collaboration
Dorothy Miell and J. P. Singh
Dorothy is a Vice-Principal at the University of Edinburgh and is Head of the College of Arts,
Humanities and Social Sciences. The College is one of three in the University and includes all social
sciences, arts and humanities research and teaching across 11 Schools with over 21,000 students
and around 3,500 staff. Since taking up her post in March 2010, Dorothy has strengthened the
University’s ties with many of Scotland’s national cultural organisations and festivals as a board
member and through agreements which support collaborations linked to the University’s research,
teaching and community engagement. Prior to coming to Edinburgh, Dorothy was Professor of
Psychology and Dean and Director of Studies of the Social Sciences Faculty at the Open University.
She continues to engage in research which focuses on understanding the social and communicative
aspects of creativity – particularly in collaborative activities such as music making. Dorothy is a
Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and is a past President of the British Psychological Society.
She is on the board of Scottish Opera and is a Council Member of Edinburgh International Festival.
Dorothy is also a member of the City of Edinburgh Council Culture Task Group and is a member of
the UK Council of the Creative Industries Federation.
Editor’s Note: In this narrative, social psychologist, Dorothy Miell, has a conversation with Editor
J.P. Singh on voice and representation in artistic practices and the possibilities for collaboration.
Miell starts with noting the dialogic practices that lead to creativity in art and ends with the processes
and tensions of artistic collaboration. She draws upon her research that focuses on understanding
the social and communicative aspects of creativity—particularly in collaborative activities such as
music making. A short bibliography at the end lists works Miell references in the conversation and
also lists a few of Miell’s own publications.
Dialogues and Art
Dorothy Miell:
It’s very hard for someone who’s not an artist to explain art. You’ll get
some people who say that art’s value comes from the artist entirely, while
others argue that its value is derived from community appreciation and
participation. This debate about value is central to understanding what art
is, but it still does not define art for someone in need of defining parameters.
A work may be self-evidently creative, but it does not necessarily become
‘artistic’ until a community recognizes it as such.
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