Extract from 
Special Edition – A Year in the Life of Charnwood Arts – 2008-2009
On the evening of the 2008 Picnic in the Park in conjunction with Arts In Mental Health, Charnwood Arts ran a Post Picnic Performance at the Pack Horse pub in Woodgate Loughborough.
This open mike evening saw around 30 adults with enduring mental health illness take part, standing up to performing poetry and songs.
Paul Conneally along with Jemma Bagley from Charnwood Arts performed a Bob Dylan style piece with Jemma holding up the pieces of cardboard with a renga poem “Twittering Birds”, written with Paul by participants during the Picnic, whilst Paul read them out.
The audience even got Kevin Ryan, Charnwood Arts’ Director, up behind the mike to sing his version of the Chieftains ‘Seven Drunken Nights’.
Below is a video of Twittering Birds in situ on the bandstand in Queens Park, Loughborough, where it was built up during the day of Picnic in the Park:
See the Renga Bandstand with description at the Internet Archive Renga Bandstand
Burn The Water 
Were there any quantifiable changes in the general behavior or feeling? of the participants? Does art work to prompt mental change after or during mental illness?
In this case the majority of participants have enduring mental illness problems – so in answer to your question – here during.<br><br>Many, especially when in groups of people willing to share through art, issues around their own mental health, their art can become a powerful tool in expressing how they feel in the world and towards it. We all have mental health – some days its better or worse than others – art might sometimes help – engagement with something other than the norm helping the inside out can be useful. Our session at the Pack Arms out of and beyond the poetry the songs just felt good. Anything that has the capacity to make us feel good or fulfilled at least a little is to be welcomed. <br> <br>Back to the question – I know that art prompts mental change before, during and after mental illness. Quantifying it is a different matter. That many come back for more, become repeat art participants, perhaps is a measure in itself.