The limitations of an approach dominated by the notion of 'learning outcomes' is even more surprising given that advances in technology and the rapid effects of globalisation have increased the demand for creative and lateral thinkers (Fleming, Gibson and Anderson, 2016;Pink, 2005). Although traditionally people with these skills may have been more readily associated with the arts (Gardner, 1993;Robinson, 2001), the corporate sector has arguably been quicker to see the value of creativity than some educationalists (Laurie, 2016;Lichtenberg, Woock and Wright, 2007). In Harris' (2014) view, the corporate sector have coopted innovation as part of a 'creative turn'. The arts have subsequently ceded some of their 3 sovereignty over creativity to industry, evident in nomenclature associated with the 'creative economy' (Florida, 2002;O'Brien, 2015;Stock, 2013). The recent addition of the Arts to the STEM agenda, re-envisioned as STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics), is a response to governments seeking to produce 'a scientifically literate, and ethically astute citizenry and workforce for the 21 st century' (Taylor, 2016: 92). Various governments are seeking to enhance their innovation agendas by recognising that different forms of knowledge and skills promote problem solving and hence foster creativity and innovation, thereby espousing the qualities of the

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This article explores how artist-researchers navigate the “uncertain” space between theory and practice in a new Doctor of Creative Arts (DCA) program in an Australian regional university. The trickster is deployed as a metaphorical device to provide insights into how the first DCA’s candidates, their supervisors, and the university’s leadership make sense of their own experiences within and about the practice-led research program under a neoliberal climate. Tricksters’ cross boundaries between critical and imaginary spaces; yet they also create boundaries, by extending collective knowledge into the unknown. This process is entirely consistent with the critical and creative work required by doctoral candidates to produce innovative research. Narrative inquiry is applied in accordance with the artist-trickster’s subjective agency within practice-led doctoral study. The article charts the DCA’s emerging identity as a doctoral qualification equal to the traditional PhD but different from it, during its implementation in 2016 to the first successful completion in 2019. The findings reveal the benefits of the program’s innovative design, grounded in the creation of its distinctive community of practice that supports practice-led research, local and international connections, and regional resilience.

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