Barbara Bolt is a practicing artist and art theorist and is Associate Dean of Research at the Victorian College of the Arts, and the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music at the University of Melbourne. She spoke about both her experiences with practice-based PhDs and the challenges that such projects pose for students. In the workshop, special attention was given to the act of writing and different possibilities for experimenting with it (essayistic writing / essay film, field notes, debriefs, etc.).