Paradox(a): arts and artists, power, paradox and organized resistance

In the call for this special issue, we asked: how do the arts, artists and artistic work leverage paradoxes to attract popular attention while also going against the grain of prevailing opinion? How might such work critically reflect on the status quo’s embedded power and uncover new expressive possibilities? Paradox theory has emerged as a significant presence in management and organization studies and as a lens inspiring connection with other theories. Paradox refers to persistent and mutually constituting oppositions inherent to organizing (Smith and Lewis Citation2011, Clegg et al. Citation2002, Gaim et al. Citation2024) that translate into undecidable trade-offs (Berti and Cunha Citation2023). These contradictions may be generative or dysfunctional (Berti et al. Citation2021, Gaim, Clegg and Cunha Citation2021, Cunha, Rego, Berti et al. Citation2023) but can also be sources of novelty and synergy for organizations (Smith and Lewis Citation2022). Nevertheless, paradox is more than either a problem inviting resolution or a stepping-stone to innovation. Its etymological meaning (para-doxa, contrary to, or existing at the same time or in parallel with the prevailing opinion) points to its potential for challenging taken-for-granted views of the world, acting as a form of resistance (Luhmann Citation1995). Thus, paradox is a condition of life, not a problem to fix or a managerial tool to get from point A to point B. [...]