Art Gallery Advocacy: Raising Awareness About the Full Lives of Children with Medical Complexity.

INTRODUCTION: Children with medical complexity (CMC) are often underrepresented in society. OBJECTIVE: To describe the creation and evaluation of a rotating art gallery exhibit featuring CMC. METHODS: In partnership with their existing community advisory board, a team of photo-narrative researchers who use participant-generated photographs and personal narratives to explore lived experiences, developed a gallery exhibit featuring CMC with three framed photos, alongside a narrative about each child. The gallery was displayed online and in-person. Visitor demographics and experiences were collected via paper/electronic surveys. RESULTS: N = 30 visitors completed surveys. Most attended to support a child/family featured (n = 15, 50%). Despite 40% (n = 12) of visitors reporting their knowledge about CMC was "extremely high" before the exhibit, 40% (n = 12) felt that they "gained some new knowledge" and an additional 33% (n = 10) felt they "learned a great deal." CONCLUSION: Art gallery exhibits may be a helpful way to highlight the full lives of CMC.