Leigh, J.T., Morriss, L. and Morriss, M. (2020) Making visible an invisible trade : exploring the everyday experiences of doing social work and being a social worker. Qualitative Social Work, 19 (2). pp. 267-283. ISSN 1473-3250
Abstract
This article demonstrates that making art in conjunction with story-telling is a method which can elucidate the everyday working practices of social work practitioners. To date, the relationship between art and social workers has rarely been noted, in part because visual studies have not attended to lived experiences of social workers. In this paper, we draw on an empirical study undertaken in England which invited social workers to use art to tell their stories of being a social worker and doing social work. Their artefacts produced powerful visual and aural accounts of practice. They were displayed at the People’s History Museum, in the first social work exhibition of this kind, making visible to members of the public the hidden, lesser known and understood aspects of practice. In this paper, we demonstrate how particular social work structures can rupture relationships between social workers and the families they work with. In doing so, we build on the sociology of art, work and interaction by showing how visual narratives can challenge, and sometimes alter, previously held assumptions and beliefs.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019 The Authors. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Qualitative Social Work. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Professional identity; lived experiences; sensory; visual methods; art; exhibition |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Sociological Studies (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 01 Nov 2018 09:57 |
Last Modified: | 29 Apr 2021 09:59 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/1473325018824629 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:137954 |
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Filename: Leigh, J - Making visible an invisible trade - AFC 2018-10-25.pdf
Licence: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0