Remembering Baby

Abstract

Arts-based activities are often incorporated into grief therapy interventions and clinical application of art therapy techniques with the bereaved has been widely documented (Bolton 2008, McGuinness and Finucane 2011, Weiskittle and Gramling 2018). In this short article we seek to contribute to this body of work by exploring the valuable role that public art exhibitions can play in bereavement support focusing on our recent exhibition Remembering Baby. This exhibition sensitively explores what happens when a baby dies, from both parent and professional perspectives. Drawing on visual images from the exhibition and anonymised testimonials from visitors, this paper focuses on exploring the role of the public exhibition as a mechanism through which to challenge silences surrounding baby-loss, and also act as a source of bereavement support. In sharing some of the thinking behind our work we seek to highlight the benefits of taking a collaborative and participatory approach to exhibition curation, focusing on the benefits of involving members of the baby-loss community in the creation of artwork.