Co-Creating Meaning through Visual Inquiry: Artists’ and Non-Artists’ Collaborative Analysis of Family Artwork

Karina Donald; Xingyi Li; Cole Lin

doi:10.66815/ajqr/18495

Karina Donald ¹ ^* , Xingyi Li ¹, Cole Lin ¹

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AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 10, Issue 3, pp. 148-168

https://doi.org/10.66815/ajqr/18495

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Abstract

This study examines how visual artists and non-artists collaboratively engage in the interpretation of family-generated artwork within an arts-based research (ABR) framework. Arts-based research (ABR) has expanded qualitative inquiry by engaging visual, embodied, and affective dimensions of experience. However, limited attention has been given to how family-generated visual data are collaboratively interpreted and how differences in artistic training shape analytic processes. This study examines how visual artists and non-artists analyze family-generated artwork, guided by the research question: What are the experiences of visual artists and non-artists in analyzing family visual data? Informed by social constructivist theory, the study employed an arts-based design integrating visual analysis, response artmaking, memo writing, and collaborative dialogue. Analysis followed an iterative process of independent coding, group refinement, and thematic synthesis. Findings indicate that artist-analysts expanded meaning through symbolic and affective engagement, while non-artists stabilized meaning through categorization and narrative structuring. Meaning emerged through the interaction of these approaches rather than residing in the visual data itself. The study demonstrates that interpretive diversity enhances analytic depth, challenges assumptions about expertise in visual analysis, and underscores the value of collaborative, multimodal approaches in family research.

Keywords: Arts-based research, visual inquiry, family studies, interdisciplinary collaboration, reflexivity

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Citation

Donald, K., Li, X., & Lin, C. (2026). Co-Creating Meaning through Visual Inquiry: Artists’ and Non-Artists’ Collaborative Analysis of Family Artwork. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 10(3), 148-168. https://doi.org/10.66815/ajqr/18495

Donald, K., Li, X., and Lin, C. (2026). Co-Creating Meaning through Visual Inquiry: Artists’ and Non-Artists’ Collaborative Analysis of Family Artwork. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 10(3), pp. 148-168. https://doi.org/10.66815/ajqr/18495

Donald K, Li X, Lin C. Co-Creating Meaning through Visual Inquiry: Artists’ and Non-Artists’ Collaborative Analysis of Family Artwork. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2026;10(3), 148-168. https://doi.org/10.66815/ajqr/18495

Donald, Karina, Xingyi Li, and Cole Lin. "Co-Creating Meaning through Visual Inquiry: Artists’ and Non-Artists’ Collaborative Analysis of Family Artwork". American Journal of Qualitative Research 2026 10 no. 3 (2026): 148-168. https://doi.org/10.66815/ajqr/18495

Donald, Karina et al. "Co-Creating Meaning through Visual Inquiry: Artists’ and Non-Artists’ Collaborative Analysis of Family Artwork". American Journal of Qualitative Research, vol. 10, no. 3, 2026, pp. 148-168. https://doi.org/10.66815/ajqr/18495

Donald K, Li X, Lin C. Co-Creating Meaning through Visual Inquiry: Artists’ and Non-Artists’ Collaborative Analysis of Family Artwork. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2026;10(3):148-68. https://doi.org/10.66815/ajqr/18495