The idea is that in focusing an issue on a series of articles where the critical role of policy-practice in arts education is closely examined, this issue will extend in important ways the concept of ‘discourses’ using both empirical and conceptual arguments from authors who are involved in inter- or trans-disciplinary research, as it relates to the broad fields of arts and artist practice, creative partnerships, and innovative learning environments. Exploring how arts educators negotiate, combine, and account for their own trajectories and territories helps to illuminate some of the more shadowy and controversial spaces within this very crowded arena of educational policy and practice.