In this presentation, Boudina will reflect on three research projects, each based in rural Africa, in which experts from the fields of health science, environmental sciences, education studies, and musicology ‘boundary cross’ (Vereijken et al 2023) in order to address community needs. These projects span the domains of ocean justice, heritage biodiversity, and eye health but are connected by the aim of co-producing knowledge based on Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). Each study therefore represents an applied intersection of the arts and sciences that forefronts what McGarry calls ‘meaning∞making’ (2024). This methodology encourages scholarship wherein research is not only about the final product and the impact it has on societies, but also about the process and how the research can be guided by community-based co-researchers. Boudina will discuss key challenges and implications of this work as they relate to health and well-being across multiple levels and domains (e.g., physical, community, environmental, and economic). Many of these challenges and implications relate to how universities across the globe (under-) value artistic output and community-based knowledge development, but equally important are issues related to convincing co-researchers and community members that the arts can develop good data, that community engagement forges trust and connections, and that taking wellness into account opens opportunities for knowledge collection.