What happens when we make art together? The impact of family participation in artgallery activities on young children’s social and emotional wellbeing

This thesis describes a collaborative research project with Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA, an arts centre with galleries, cinemas and print studios), to study the impact that family art participation has upon the social and emotional wellbeing of young children. It comprises a scoping review, a mixed methods systematic review, a two-part analysis of DCA visitor feedback cards, an experimental study with family participants, an analysis of art activities undertaken, and the design of a toolkit for use in the wider sector. The thesis is grounded in classic attachment theory, and considers multiple indicators of a positive parent-child relationship, including social and emotional wellbeing. The thesis is framed in an ‘arts and health’ context, and the researcher acknowledges her professional background in gallery education in the study design, adopting a reflexive and pragmatist position. The approach is exploratory, and applies psychological research methods to the non-clinical context of DCA’s public family Learning Programme, to determine which methods best describe how shared art experiences may help to build strong attachment relationships. An experimental study with children aged 3-5 years old has informed the design of applied research outcomes for DCA and the wider gallery sector, including an observational toolkit, family activity sheets, and a framework for qualitative analysis of visitor comments. The study concludes that though no change effects were found in participants, positive attachment behaviours were observed as single-point measures. This indicates that non-clinical populations could benefit from family visual art participation, though to a less pronounced degree than those at risk of attachment difficulties. There was also an association between children’s experience of independent art making and parental support of agency, and their representational drawing skills. Recommendations are made for a mixed methods approach to data collection and analysis to better describe the participant experience in a gallery setting.