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In January and February 2025, at The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge in Canterbury, the INTERACT exhibition transformed research into reflection. Through collaborative, arts-based methods, the team illuminated the lived realities of Kent’s underserved communities. Songs, stories, films, and illustrations gave form to experiences often left in silence. Visitors wandered through the space, encountering graphic novels born from dementia narratives, Punjabi folk songs echoing mental health journeys, and podcasts that gave voice to the unheard.
Art became a bridge—between disciplines, between people. It invited empathy, challenged stigma, and opened doors to new understandings. Over 6,000 visitors engaged with the exhibition, leaving behind words of gratitude, emotion, and hope.
‘Thank you for your research and work with the community. As someone who struggles with their mental health but is otherwise operating from a position of structural privilege, I am really glad to see this intersectional approach and the centering of voices and communities less often heard.’
‘I found this exhibition space calm, peaceful, socially connected and community – orientated. The mental health topics it approaches can be in contrast, turbulent. I appreciate the opportunity of being in this space of openness and dialogue. I find it heartening to see silence and stigma around mental health being replaced by communication and understanding. It is a great contrast with my personal experiences, to see struggles and challenges transformed into contributions to advances in understanding, and positive changes.’
‘This is a lovely and very important exhibition. I love the creativity of this project and hope that lots of mental health professionals come and see it!’
‘When I look at these paintings, I almost cry out aloud. Because I can deeply feel the way these people feel.’
‘Seeing my people talk about mental health has filled my heart with joy. There is hope for peace.’
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