Composing Art for Reflexivity: Still Life Photography as a Medium for Reflexive Management Learning

Abstract

Engaging in reflexive practice is crucial for both management students and professionals. Teaching the core skills of reflexivity can be difficult, however. We describe the Still Life Photo Exercise, a simple yet powerful reflexive activity grounded in art-based pedagogy. In this unconventional method for stimulating deep reflection and engaged discussion, students choose and arrange everyday objects into a work of art in line with a given theme, learning to critically reflect upon their lived experiences through creative skills, projective techniques, illustration of essence, and the physical act of making. The exercise’s versatility, its ability to draw out deep personal reflection through art and its power to help students share and build social connections make it suitable for any management context. This article provides instructions for delivery in an online asynchronous undergraduate course in Leadership and details how it can be used in Organizational Behavior, Entrepreneurship, and (small or large) face-to-face instruction.

Keywords

reflexivity leadership entrepreneurship creativity photography works of art self-awareness student engagement

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