Arts-Based Research Forum 2nd Meiji × University of the Philippines ABR Forum 2026
ABR Meiji × UP groups International Forum

Meiji × UP
ABR Forum 2026

The 2nd Meiji × UP ABR Forum 2026 is an international forum where students, researchers, and practitioners meet across borders through Arts-Based Research to explore expression, dialogue, and possibilities for collaborative inquiry.

View Overview View Program
Organizers
MK

Makiko Kishi, Ph.D

School of Global Japanese Studies / Institute for Global Diversity Education and Research, Meiji University

RF

Roberto.jr.Figueroa, Ph.D

University of the Philippines Open University / Institute for Global Diversity Education and Research, Meiji University

CT

Crina Tañongon

The Communication Arts and Design, UP Cebu

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Fieldwork
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Workshop
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Dialogue
Forum Information
Date
November 3 (Tue) – November 6 (Fri), 2026
Place
Cebu, Philippines
Theme
Exploring Language and Culture through Arts-Based Research (ABR)
Objective 01

To unsettle what feels taken for granted through intercultural encounters, raise questions, and inquire together.

Objective 02

To build a foundation for ongoing collaborative research and begin academic exchange through the metaverse.

What is ABR

What is ABR?

Through video, photography, drawing, embodied expression, sound/music, poetry, theatre, fiction, and other artistic forms and processes, ABR invites us to think deeply about people and society and to question what we usually take for granted.

ABR has developed across diverse fields such as art therapy, qualitative research, anthropology, and arts education. In this project, we focus especially on ABR as educational practice and on performative research in the social sciences.

Focus A

Transforming Learning｜ABR as Educational Practice

One form of ABR is ABR as educational practice. Using expressive processes and the works that emerge from them as clues, we unsettle assumptions through moments of discomfort and curiosity, open questions, and explore themes together.

Focus B

PSS｜Performative Social Science

ABR can also be understood as a form of performative social science. Through dialogue and multiple interpretations, we collectively bring knowledge into being.

Project with Photos

Project Activities in Photos

Fieldwork, making, dialogue, exhibitions, metaverse exchange, and other moments from Meiji × UP ABR will be shared through photographs. As the project develops, we will continue updating the photos. Please enjoy watching the website change over time.

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Making / Process
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Field Notes
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Co-creation
Program

What We Will Do in This Forum

The program is designed around experience, making, and dialogue rather than lecture alone.

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Experiencing ABR

Researchers Practitioners Students

Participants will experience ABR practices through photography, embodied expression, poetry, and other forms, and discuss their possibilities.

  • check_circleExamples and hands-on workshops situated in educational, community, and multicultural contexts.
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Collaborative Research through the Metaverse

Researchers Practitioners

Through exhibitions, virtual spaces, dialogue, and exchange, we will cultivate a research community that continues beyond the forum.

  • forumA shared exhibition space for works and records, and ongoing dialogue across borders.
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Student-Led International Collaboration

Students

Students from Meiji University and the University of the Philippines will deepen collaboration and dialogue across cultural contexts.

  • diversity_3Co-creating together deepens intercultural understanding and turns relationships themselves into sites of inquiry.
For You

For Those Who Want to Inquire Across Borders

For those who want to expand the boundaries of research, encounter the world through expression, and connect with students and researchers overseas through practice.

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For those who want to begin research through art and expression.

For people who want to turn the intuition of “I want to research this” into artistic, embodied, and narrative practice.

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For those who want to work on a project with peers abroad.

For people who want to broaden their questions and perspectives through collaboration across countries and cultures.

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For those who want to challenge new ways of learning beyond the classroom.

For people who want to update their understanding of learning through fieldwork, embodied experience, exhibition, and dialogue.

Overview

Overview

Toward a broader academic network and future collaborative research and educational partnership.

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Date｜November 3 (Tue) – November 6 (Fri), 2026

The four-day program includes the ABR Forum, Reading Cebu through the city, metaverse practice, and reflection.

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Venue｜University of the Philippines Cebu

The forum will make the most of both the density of in-person field experiences and the possibilities of international connection.

Program Flow

Program Overview

We value a flow of meeting, practicing, reflecting, and connecting the experience to future collaborative research.

Day 111/3 Tue
ABR Forum
Introduction to ABR and hands-on activities led by Meiji University faculty and students
Day 211/4 Wed
Reading Cebu through the city
by Asst. Prof. Jay Nathan Jore (Design Studies and Culture Expert)
Day 311/5 Thu
Metaverse Practice Led by UPOC
Day 411/6 Fri
Reflection

* Participants are responsible for local arrival and departure.

Practice Videos

Community Building × ABR

Cultural Inquiry into School Experience × ABR

Past Practice / Voices

Past International ABR Practices / Voices

A small selection of previous international ABR practices that can serve as references for this forum.

Egypt｜PhotoVoice: Speaking through Photographs, Reading Society

Through fieldwork on tourism, signs, fashion, public spaces, and ideas of happiness, students re-examined less visible voices from their own perspectives.

Article / Video

Turkey｜Exploring Coexistence through Walking Ethnography

By walking through the city, observing, and sharing what they sensed, students considered what it means to live together through the body.

Article / Video

Syria｜PhotoVoice: Looking at the Past, Present, and Future

Through photography, participants reflected on their past, present, and future. This project shows how expression can become a space for dialogue and hope.

Article / Video

A place where questions meet the world.

This forum looks toward an international ABR network that begins with encounters in the Philippines and expands toward the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Moving between physical fields and virtual spaces, we will cultivate a research community that continues to create and inquire together.

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