Cultural Ethics, Community Participation and Consent

Arts and cultural research may involve people, communities, living traditions and knowledge whose circulation is limited by consent, custom or custodial responsibility.

Participants

Interviews, observation, workshops, recordings and other research involving people require appropriate ethics review or informed consent. Authors must explain how identity, quotation, image and voice may be used.

Community participation

Community-engaged work should describe who participated, how decisions and credits were agreed, what was returned to participants and how unequal power or disagreement was addressed.

Cultural knowledge and heritage

Indigenous, traditional, sacred or restricted knowledge must be represented with permission and appropriate attribution. Legal permission alone may not resolve a cultural or custodial obligation.

Risk and dignity

Authors should avoid disclosures that expose participants or communities to stigma, surveillance, commercial exploitation, damage or unwanted circulation of sensitive material.