Building the Barricades (ES/S000720/1) Follow-On: mobilising research on mental health and substance use in Complexo da Maré, Rio de Janeiro

This proposal arises from a unique opportunity to bring the research findings from Building the Barricades (ES/S000720/1) to new audiences. In the absence of medical interventions and social assistance in Maré, the studies undertaken in the original research have drawn attention to the importance of active participation in art and cultural activities for individuals' recovery from mental health disorders as well as to build mental health resilience and wellbeing.

The follow-on proposal will use arts-based methodologies (live performance, installation and visual arts) to extend the impact of the research, whilst simultaneously contributing to increased well-being amongst the citizens of the Complexo da Maré, Rio de Janeiro.

The project's existing research has already engaged the international academic community through an ongoing series of publications, research seminars and conferences. The focus will now be on engaging general audiences as well as key stakeholders committed to, and responsible for, the delivery of mental health and well-being services in Rio de Janeiro and Latin America.

The project will establish a Mental Health Committee in Rio de Janeiro, made up of 15 representatives from civil society organisations and government agencies delivering health care provision in Maré, who will develop recommendations based on the original research findings and advocate for health policy reform to improve provision in Maré. In collaboration with FIOCRUZ, we will host three roundtable debates, further engaging civil society organisations as well as city, state and federal agencies addressing the mental health consequences for residents of territories like Maré with the research.

The research team will also host a knowledge exchange visit, sharing methodologies and the research findings with civil society organisations working in fragile territories in Bogotá, Lima and Buenos Aires as part of a regional network on arts and mental health established by HERITAGE and PRIEBE (Co-I).

This follow-on proposal will activate a range of voices in the interpretation and dissemination of the research. Working with the civil society and research organisation Maré Development Networks (MDN), the proposal will ensure that the research findings continue to register with the community in Complexo da Maré, a territory of 16 favelas in Rio de Janeiro which is home to over 140,000 residents.

Over the past 18 months, the combined British and Brazilian research team have built an inter-disciplinary analytical and methodological framework that bridges geographical, social and disciplinary borders. One strand of the original research has used arts-based practices to produce narratives and images that challenge stigma and exclusion associated with Mental, Neurological and Substance Use (MNS) disorders.

These practices included workshops and events (live and online) with residents from Maré and poets, musicians, photographers and visual artists. Alongside the research, members of the team also established a choir for those who frequent the open-use crack sites. The success of these creative initiatives has opened up unexpected opportunities to explore integrated ways to produce and disseminate learning between the various agents involved in this multidisciplinary research and a diverse range of new audiences beyond academia.

Multiplicidade, one of Rio's leading international arts festivals, has invited HERITAGE (PI) to create a performance/installation based on the research findings at the Biblioteca Parque Estadual in October 2021. Provisionally entitled 'Mais Becos', this performance/installation will be directed by a leading Brazilian contemporary musician working with popular art-forms, music and photography, and engage 31 community-based arts initiatives mapped during the original research, including the choir, and over 1,000 residents from Maré.