Author Identifier (ORCID)
Rikki James: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5921-6813
Christina C. Gray: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8464-1961
Jason Goopy: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8766-1458
Delyse Clayden: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5040-0729
Han Meng: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6283-3214
Narelle Lemon: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1396-5488
Cassandra Tytler: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0357-7123
Carli Sanbrook: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2808-0877
Manonita Ghosh: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0522-1959
Melanie Brooks: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4197-8932
Abstract
This paper explores how academics individually and collectively reflect on their wellbeing using arts-based approaches to support wellbeing literacy development in professional contexts. Eleven academics from an Australian university engaged in a two-day off-campus retreat using collage as an arts-based inquiry method. Participants created visual representations of their past, present, and future academic experiences, followed by reflective dialogue. Data were analysed using thematic inductive analysis. Three key themes emerged: arts-based approaches facilitated deep reflection through metaphorical thinking; academics’ wellbeing trajectories revealed evolution from past confusion toward more intentional futures; and collective reflection fostered shared wellbeing literacy development. The process illuminated multiple PERMAH dimensions, particularly relationships, meaning, and health. This study demonstrates how arts-based reflection functions simultaneously as professional development and wellbeing practice, developing critical wellbeing literacy that can help embed wellbeing as a core component of academic practice rather than an optional add-on.
Keywords
Academics, arts-based inquiry, collage, PERMAH, reflection, wellbeing
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2026
Publication Title
Reflective Practice
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
School
School of Education / Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) / School of Arts and Humanities
RAS ID
84445
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in REFLECTIVE PRACTICE on 20th January 2026, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/14623943.2025.2607104
James, R., Gray, C. C., Goopy, J., Clayden, D., Meng, H., Lemon, N., Tytler, C., Sanbrook, C., Ghosh, M., Brooks, M., & Selkrig, M. (2026). The joy of art-based reflection: Building shared academic wellbeing literacy through collage. Reflective Practice. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2025.2607104