Our Founder

Dr. Darlene E. Clover

Professor of Leadership Studies, University of Victoria
Founder, Feminist Imaginary Research Network (FIRN)

Dr. Darlene Clover is an internationally recognized scholar in feminist adult education, arts-based research, and community cultural leadership. For more than three decades, her work has challenged conventional boundaries of learning by integrating creative, aesthetic, and activist approaches to social change.

Her research has explored:

• feminist arts and cultural practices
• museum and heritage studies
• adult and community education
• social justice leadership
• gender, equity, and cultural representation

Dr. Clover has published widely and has collaborated with educators, artists, activists, and cultural organizations across Canada and around the world. Her work foregrounds how creative, feminist approaches can unsettle taken-for-granted assumptions, foster critical reflection, and imagine new social futures.

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Why She Founded FIRN

Dr. Clover envisioned FIRN as:

• a creative research hub where feminist ideas can grow
• a collaborative space for scholars, artists, and community partners
• a platform to amplify feminist research, stories, and aesthetics
• a network that centres imagination, creativity, and lived experience
• a resource for those working toward equitable and feminist futures

Her commitment to art, imagination, and feminist pedagogy shapes the heart of FIRN. The Network reflects her belief that feminist knowledge-making is most powerful when it is collective, creative, and connected to community.

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Our Mission

To support innovative feminist research, creative projects, and community learning that challenge inequality and reimagine social and cultural futures.

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Our Values

• Creativity — valuing aesthetic and artistic forms of knowledge
• Collaboration — working across disciplines and communities
• Equity & Justice — centring feminist principles in all we do
• Accessibility — producing knowledge that is open, inclusive, and engaging
• Imagination — embracing possibility, transformation, and alternative futures

24-27 August 2025, Merano Women’s Museum – Via Mainardo, 2

The workshop “Cartographies of Interruption and Influence: Feminist Educational Strategies in Museums in Response to Gender-Based Violence” took place at the Merano Women’s Museum, Italy, from 24–27 August 2025. Over four days, participants engaged in presentations, workshops, small-group discussions, and interactive activities, including feminist museum bingo, city tours, and creative exercises in curatorial practice. The programme featured speakers from around the world who shared their work on topics such as transnational resistance against feminicides, women’s remembrance in times of insurgency, structural violence, reproductive rights, and feminist approaches to museum education. Collaborative sessions allowed participants to discuss challenges and potentials, explore institutional strategies, and design future initiatives through group work and publications. The workshop concluded with reflective discussions and creative outputs, offering a space for exchange, learning, and the co-creation of strategies for addressing gender-based violence within museum contexts.

final version

Click here to download the PDF file

 

Victoria has a particular interest in arts-based methodologies underpinned by feminist epistemology and her book, Collaborative Arts-based Research for Social Justice (2016; Routledge) provides a rationale for employing this approach in community settings. She also has an interest in Surrealism, particularly the work of women surrealists who had concerns for the more than human world.

Foster, Victoria (2023) Surreal encounters: Playing with the more than human at a community farm. Qualitative Inquiry. [Online first]

 

Foster, Victoria (2019) ‘The return of the surreal: Towards a poetic and playful sociology’, Qualitative Sociology Review, 15(1):148-164.

Publications

Butterwick, S. (2022). Stories of Hope, Imagination, and Transformative Learning: A Dialogue. in New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education has been published 
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ace.20478 

Presentations

Art Activist Barbie – Celebrating International Women’s Day 2023

As part of the Good Society lecture series and an International Women’s Day special, Edgehill University has invited an appearance from Art Activist Barbie (AAB). AAB is the brainchild of Dr Sarah Williamson of Huddersfield University. She will explore art activism and ‘good activism’ for social justice and a better world through her innovative and imaginative work which stages Barbie dolls in museums and art galleries. Expect to be educated and entertained by Sarah’s disruptive and subversive activism with a visual feast of photographs and behind the scenes stories.

Homecare Worker Stories

A short film with homecare workers talking about their everyday experiences in providing homecare.

Franger, G. (2023). Else Oppler. Eine außergewöhnliche Künstlerin 1875 – 1965. (Else Oppler. An extraordinary artist). Nürnberg: Frauen in der Einen Welt.

 

Auer, S, Franger, G. & Niehoff-Hack, A. (Eds) (2022). Plakat Kunst. Poster Art. Nürnberg: Frauen in der Einen Welt.

 

Bala, E,. Franger, G.& Jakovljević-Šević, T. (2022): Oko Glave, Različiti diskursi marame kao kulturnoc ozhnačitelja. (Around the head. Discourses on the meaning of the headscarf). Novi Sad.

 

Cyprian, G., Franger, G.& Ghanem, R. (Eds) (2021) Technik#Weiblich#Logisch. Digital. Gendergerecht. Nachhaltig. (Technology#Female#Logical – digital, equitable, sustainable). Nürnberg: Frauen in der Einen Welt. https://www.frauenindereinenwelt.de/de/DE_Publikationen/DE_Kataloge/DE_2020-22_Technik-Weiblich-Logisch.

 

Clover, D., Franger, G. (2021). Cultures of Headscarves. Feminist Adult Intercultural Education Through a Challenging Exhibition, in: Kathy Sanford, Darlene E. Clover, Nancy Taber, und Sarah Williamson: Feminist Critique and the Museum, Brill | Sense, S. 284-305

 

Franger, G., Schönweger, A. (2021): Cultures of headscarves: Intercultural Education through a Challenging Feminist Exhibition, in: Clover, D. E., Dzulkifli, S., Gelderman, H., & Sanford, K. Feminist Adult Educators’ Guide to Aesthetic, Creative and Disruptive Strategies in Museums and Community. University of Victoria Gender Justice, Creative Pedagogies and Arts- Based Research Group. https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/comarts/feminist-adult-educators-guide/.

 

Franger, G. (2019) Dialogue for reconciliation: Exhibition concepts. In Akkent, M.. Kovar, N. Feminist Pedagogy: Museums, Memory Sites and Practices of Remembrance. Istanbul Publication of Istanbul Women’s Museum, p. 244-251.

 

Franger, G. (Ed.) (2019) Alltag, Erinnerung, Kunst und Aktion. Rückblick nach Vorne. (Daily Life, Memory, Art and Action. Retrospektive Back to the Future). Nürnberg: Frauen in der Einen Welt.

 

Franger, G. (2019) Artivismus – Kreativer Widerstand. (Artivism – Creative Resistance). In Frieden ist eine Kunst. Kultur, Konflikt und Widerstand. Bund für Soziale Verteidigung e. V. Hintergrund- und Diskussionspapier, No. 65, June, p. 44-52.

 

Bala, E., Franger, G. (Eds). (2019)  (How feminine is the city? Fürth and its Sister Cities Limoges, Marmaris, Midoun, Paisley, Xylokastro.  Midoun.

https://www.frauenindereinenwelt.de/de/DE_Publikationen/DE_Kataloge/DE-arab_2018_weibliche_Stadt.

Franger, G. (2018) Frida Folk. Chennai: Tara Publisher.

 

Bala, E., Franger, G. (Eds) (2018). Wie weiblich ist die Stadt? Was Kommunen können und was Frauen leisten. Nürnberg: Frauen in der Einen Welt.

 

Franger, G. (2017). Discovering Commonalities in Apparent Differences – Changing the Perspective on the Self and the Other. In Akkent, Meral (Ed) Women’s museums: Centre of Social Memory, and Place of Inclusion, Istanbul: Publications of Women’s Museum Istanbul, p. 166-179.

 

Cyprian, G., Franger, G. (Eds) (2017): ausgekocht? (The end of cooking? boiled out?). Nürnberg: Frauen in der Einen Welt.

https://www.frauenindereinenwelt.de/de/DE_Publikationen/DE_Kataloge/DE_2016-17_ausgekocht.

 

Franger, G. (Ed). (2015). Kriegssocken und Peacemakerinnen. (War socks and Peacemakers). Nürnberg: Frauen in der Einen Welt.    

                                                                                                                             

 

Franger, G. (2014). Arpilleras – arte textile testimonial de mujeres en el Perú entre elaboración del trauma, denuncia y medio de subsistencia. (Arpilleras – women’s testimonial textile art in Peru between trauma elaboration, denunciation and means of subsistence). In Perú: Medios, Memoria y violencia. Lima, p. 157-174.

Franger, G. (2014). Survival-Empowerment – Courage: Insights into the History and Developments of Peruvian Arpilleras. In Marjorie Agosín (Ed): Stitching Resistance. Women, Creativity, and Fiber Arts, Kent, p. 101-118.

 

Franger, G. (Ed.) (2009). Schicksalsfäden. Geschichten in Stoff von Gewalt, Hoffen und Überleben.(Threads of destiny: Testimonies of violence, hope and survival). Nürnberg: Frauen in der Einen Welt. https://www.frauenindereinenwelt.de/de/DE_Publikationen/DE_Kataloge/DE_2009_Schicksalsfaeden.

 

Bennewitz, N., Franger.G. (Eds) (2003): Geschichte der Frauen in Mittelfranken. Alltag, Personen und Orte, (History of the women in Middle Franconia. Everyday life, people and places). Cadolzburg: Ars Vivendi.

 

Bennewitz, N., Franger.G. (Eds) (1999): Am Anfang war Sigena. Ein Nürnberger Frauengeschichtsbuch. (In the Beginning was Sigena. A Nuremberg women’s history book). Cadolzburg: Ars Vivendi.

 

Franger, G. (Ed).(1998). Verflechtungen- Korbmacherinnen in Zambia und in Oberfranken, (Entanglements – female basket makers in Zambia and Upper Franconia). Nürnberg: Frauen in der Einen Welt.

 

Franger, G. (Ed) (1995, 1996). The art of survival. Fabric Images of Women’s Daily Lives, Madras und Nürnberg (German, Russian and English).

 

Franger, G., Pablo, M. (Eds) (1994) Abenteuer Ehe. Heiratsmigrantinnen gestern und heute. (The adventure of marriage. Marriage migrants yesterday and today). Nürnberg: Frauen in der Einen Welt.

 

Franger, G. (Ed) (1992) „Das hätte ich mir nicht träumen lassen, daß ich mal Indianerwäsche auf meine Wäschelein’ häng.“ Begegnungen– Aymarabäuerin in Franken, der Oberpfalz und Österreich. (“I never dreamed that I would be hanging Indian laundry on my clothes.“ Encounters) Nürnberg: Frauen in der Einen Welt.

 

Franger, G., Scheub, U. (Eds). (1991). „Wir werden nicht schweigen“. Frauengeschichten aus Israel und Palästina. (“We Will Not Be Silent.” Women’s Stories from Israel and Palestine). Nürnberg: Frauen in der Einen Welt.

 

Franger, G. (1988) Arpilleras, Cuadros que hablan. Vida cotidiana y organización de mujeres, Lima.

 

Akkent, M., Franger,G. (Eds). (1987). Das Kopftuch, Ein Stückchen Stoff in Geschichte und Gegenwart. (The headscarf, a piece of fabric in the past and present.) Frankfurt: Dağyeli Verlag (German and Turkish).

The project Changing gendered patterns of power through creative dialogic pedagogies of the Canada-Italy Innovation Award 2020 of the Embassy of Canada in Italy funded our Visiting to the University of Victoria (BC), Canada, between November 12th-19th, 2022. The logic of the project was to experiment in Italy with feminist, creative and dialogic pedagogies and bring it to Canada to share and discuss it with a different population. The methodologies that we brought to Canada include:

– Cooperative inquiry through contemporary feminist photography

– Poetic collaborative writing starting from embodied experience of art

– Experiential translation with an educational perspective.

In L’altro sguardo/The other gaze in a class room talk we presented a pedagogical practical theory that celebrates complexity, and triggers deliberate action, starting from the participants’ reflexive writing from photographs taken from the internet. ‘Aesthetics’, or different media and languages, reveal through presentational knowing (Heron, 1996) and abduction (Bateson, 1979) how our perception and our subjectivity are shaped by culture, by our webs of affiliation. They may also offer ways to collectively interrogate what we know, and how we know.

Through a cooperative method of writing-as-inquiry (duoethnography, Sawyer & Norris, 2013) we invited students to a dialogic exploration in pairs and in plenary of feminism in our lives, and share ideas for applying aesthetic methodologies in social research (Leavy, 2015) and adult education for social justice (Clover, Sandford & Butterwick, 2013). The talk was based on the article:

Formenti, L., Luraschi, S., & Del Negro, G. (2019). Relational aesthetics. A duoethnographic research on feminism. European journal for research on the education and learning of adults, 10(2), 123-141.

In this class, the students were all from different migratory backgrounds. Two were men: the English-Canadian lecturer and a Canadian student from Ontario with Swedish origins. To the question “Are you a feminist?”, they replied that their relationship to feminisms (theory and practice) developed thanks to women in their lives. Picking photographs from the internet as well as from personal archives to talk about feminisms allowed new intimate conversations in the classroom which then continued at the pub.

L’altro sguardo/The other gaze. Reflexive writing from women photography in arts-based research. Talk in Tim Hopper’s research class (EPHE 585 (PO1): Qualitative research genres applied to education, health and society – Thursday, November 17th, 16:30 18:00, McKinnon Building, #092