Exploring art-oriented interview: An arts-based methodological tool to elicit narratives

Abstract

The growing application of arts-based research in exploring health, illness, and embodied experiences presents significant opportunities for engaging diverse participants and audiences through inclusive mediums, fostering the exploration of sensitive topics, and broadening research dissemination beyond the academic context. This innovative methodological landscape, however, also introduces distinct theoretical, methodological, and ethical challenges. Drawing on empirical findings from the Vineyard Project, a pilot initiative in youth mental health care, this paper critically examines the implications and unique potential of an arts-based research technique termed the ‘art-oriented interview’. This method uniquely elicits narratives by orienting interviews toward the future creation of artistic artefacts, thereby offering a distinctive approach to data generation. Our findings underscore this technique's efficacy in empowering vulnerable populations within health and illness contexts, providing a vital space for voice and counteracting marginalisation and stigmatisation.

Keywords

Mental health arts-based research creative methods interviewing process illness narrative elicitation-based methods

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