The participatory installation – Forming the evidence of experience

This article reports on an enquiry designed to explore the impact of the arts on health though a participatory arts installation during the Evidence in a Different Form Conference. Delegates were invited to contribute to the installation with small, personally meaningful objects related to the arts, health and evidence. The process and content of the installation are discussed, focusing on dynamic interactions, conversations and meaningful associations that evolved. Implications identified relate to the arts, place-making and restorative environments, how personal meanings attached to art can change over time and how the direction of projects using arts-based processes can sometimes develop unpredictably. This installation project demonstrates how being open to the natural evolution of a project can reap meaningful results for communities.