This issue of Axon: Creative Explorations is titled ‘We Need to Talk’, and the concept behind this title galvanised the work of the Centre for Creative and Cultural Research (the publisher of Axon) throughout 2023. The project emerged from a collaboration between the University of Canberra, Ulster University, and the British Council in 2022, which was titled ‘Difficult Conversations: What is the role of art and creativity in a polarised society?’ This involved artists, academics, and artist-academics in framing discussions about their own experiences of and/or research into how art practice and creative thinking can address wicked problems, engage in the ongoing debates on ‘difficult’ topics, and both raise and investigate controversial questions that impact on, and also animate, our communities.
Jen Webb
