Enhancing equity in arts-based research engagement: Methodological considerations from a policy-oriented community-development study

ABSTRACT

This paper provides reflexive account of an arts-based communication tool used for a community development project in Manitoba, Canada. Drawing upon an intersectional perspective of social, health, and environmental inequalities, the multi-phase engagement involved citizens (n = 17; n = 9) as well as global policymakers (n = 6) in healthy cities, age-friendly cities, and sustainable city policy arenas. A visual graphic was employed to foster bidirectional dialogue between concerned local residents and global policymakers, forming the backbone of a community engagement strategy. Reflective analysis demonstrates how art can be mobilized toward reducing inequalities while notable challenges remain—including omission of highly-sidelined perspectives amidst complex interdisciplinarity; potential reductionism leading to manufactured consent; and considerations of communities inherently excluded in a qualitative, arts-based community engagement. The impacts of art on power hierarchies, emotion, project efficiency, and privilege are reviewed, with the objective of supporting more inclusive arts-based communications in future research.

KEYWORDS:

• Visual media
• communication design
• participation
• critical discourse
• research methodology

Acknowledgments

This study was funded in part by the Western Regional Training Center of Health Services Research (WRTC-CIHR).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Government of Manitoba.