ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how a critical art-based inquiry can provide an avenue to explore "intersectional reflexivity". It argues that art making is a powerful tool to explore the complex intersections of identity formation, its performance, and negotiation in the social structures of everyday life. The chapter focuses on the relationships between the personal and political, the private and public, a critical art-based inquiry becomes a meaningful way for art therapists to inquire into the contradictions of lived experience. The term "art-based inquiry" has come to be recognized as a qualitative method. A critical art-based inquiry hinges on "self-reflexivity" as a cornerstone for research and practice. The chapter illustrates the role intersectional reflexivity can play for art therapists in embodying a social justice framework that seeks to make visible oppressive power structures. By rethinking the value of experience oriented narratives rooted in life experiences, art therapists can begin to realize the full potential of an intersectional approach.
