The Wish List: A Public Art Installation to Raise Awareness of Advance Care Planning

The Wish List is a public-facing art installation developed as part of a HSC Public Health Agency-funded research campaign to raise awareness of, and engagement with, advance care planning (ACP) among the general public. Designed to be accessible and inclusive, the installation invited participants of any age or health status to reflect on and record what would be important to them if they were to become unwell, so serving as a first step towards ACP.
The installations featured free-standing visual peg boards whose bases were covered in an intertwined collection of living plant life, onto which participants could anonymously hang a handwritten paper tag recording their personal wishes, values and preferences. Participants were invited to read others' responses, with coloured ribbons added to tags by the research team over the course of each event as an initial phase of thematic categorisation, simultaneously creating an evolving visual representation of shared human experience. Postcards were also available for participants to take home as a prompt for further reflection or conversation with friends and family.
The installation was displayed at two locations:
Installation 1 - Ulster University, Block BA Foyer, Belfast Campus (5–9 October 2022): Displayed in the foyer of Block BA on the Belfast campus, the installation engaged students and staff across the university community. It was staffed daily by a registered professional and an academic team member with expertise in ACP and palliative care. The installation was accompanied by a university-wide social media awareness campaign and an online survey to capture knowledge, attitudes, and barriers and facilitators to ACP engagement.
Installation 2 - Belfast Exposed Gallery (19 October 2022): The installation was exhibited as part of the Public Health Agency (PHA) Advance Care Planning Policy Launch, bringing the project to a wider public audience in a prominent Belfast arts venue. This provided an opportunity to reach community members beyond the university setting and to situate ACP conversations within a public health policy context. Attendees were invited to take home a tree seed pod as a further emphasis on the cyclical nature of the life cycle, care, and attention.