Promoting mental health through a Rural Art Roadshow: perspectives of participating artists.

The findings demonstrate that community art exhibitions can have social and personal benefits for participating artists whilst contributing to rural community wellbeing. This is particularly important for rural communities where isolation and stigma around mental illness is often exacerbated. The Rural Art Roadshow is a promising mental health promotion approach for rural and remote areas of Australia. Future research could assess the community health gains of Rural Art Roadshow participation as well as explore the impact on local service providers.