Public Involvement & Engagement

Photographs of Good Grief Festival contributors (from L-R): David Baddiel, Guvna B, Ruby Wax, Robert Webb, Julia Samuel MBE, Amber Jeffrey, Michael Rosen, Dr Rola Hallam, Dr Kathryn Mannix

Involving and engaging members of the public is central to the work we do at the Bristol Centre for Grief Research and Engagement. From identifying research questions to designing, conducting, interpreting and sharing our research, we see working in partnership with diverse groups of bereaved people as a fundamental strength of our approach. If you would like to find out more about how you can get involved, please email us at grief-centre@bristol.ac.uk.

Good Grief Festival

Our public engagement is led by Good Grief Festival CIC. Since our first Good Grief Festival in October 2020, we have welcomed over 35,000 people to over 300 online and in-person events. The public reaction to our work shows the need for opportunities to come together as a community and discuss, learn about and reflect on death and grief – as well as the role that festivals can play in public health approaches to these fundamental experiences. 

Illustrations by Jayde Perkin in Gathering, a zine commissioned to celebrate the first Good Grief Festival in 2020

We have also co-produced two in-person festivals, Good Grief Weston, held in Weston-super-Mare 2023 and 2024, working with Super Culture, RENS (Race Equality North Somerset), Weston Hospicecare, and many other local VCSE organisations, healthcare providers and artists.

A poster created for Good Grief Weston 2023, with a photograph by Paul Blakemore and text from Fevered Sleep’s project This Grief Thing, which encourages people to think, talk and learn about grief.

Engaging people through the arts

We use the arts to engage people in conversations about grief, death and dying, both by including well-known writers, musicians, artists and comedians in our programme and also by running creative workshops which offer a safe space for people to come together and share experiences of grief. Research suggests that creativity can help facilitate adaptive grieving, providing an indirect way for bereaved people to explore feelings and make meaning from experiences. Collaborative activities can reduce isolation, build community and reach people who are less likely to attend regular support groups. Good Grief Festival was nominated for a Demystifying Death Award in 2023.

Weston-super-Mare community members participating in a creative workshop as part of Good Grief Weston 2023. Photo credit: Peter Goodrum

More information:

We publish academic papers about our public engagement work, which you may like to read. 

Selman LE, Turner N, Dawson L, Chamberlain C, Mustan A, Rivett A, Fox F. Engaging and supporting the public on the topic of grief and bereavement: an evaluation of Good Grief Festival. Palliat Care Soc Pract. 2023 Jul 30;17:26323524231189523.

Robb J, Clabburn O, Bamford A, Matthews F, Lee K, Toulcher L, Maxwell P, Thomas-Bennett N, Hare R, Dawson L, Malpass A, Selman LE. Community engagement in a seaside town: evaluation of Good Grief Weston festival. Palliat Care Soc Pract. 2024 Sep 6;18:26323524241274175.

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