Arts-Based Research and Practice in International Governance Spaces

Abstract This chapter reflects on an experience of co-developing arts-based research with diverse knowledge holders on the ocean in South Africa and piloting engagement with international decision-makers and stakeholders in three different UN fora. It first highlights the role of arts-based approaches in creating space for diverse forms of knowledge, and their potential as a democratizing and decolonizing practice, drawing on Global South scholarship. The chapter then focuses on three case studies of engagement with arts-based approaches grounded in the intergenerational experiences of diverse knowledge holders in South Africa in UN fora. It then reflects how arts-based approaches can be understood as human rights-aligned practice and can contribute to transformative practices in ocean decision-making processes at different levels. It concludes with the proposition that international fora can embed this practice within their existing institutional structures for mutual learning across multigenerational life experiences, and diverse knowledge systems and relationships with the ocean.