Revolution!
The 2023 Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival (SMHAF) took place across Scotland from 4 – 22 October 2023, exploring the theme of ‘Revolution’.
A small number of events are continuing or are still to come. Browse the upcoming programme and book tickets.
Latest News
Interview with koi collective on their Hysterical free fall through the history of mad women
Listen to this podcast by Talking Heads volunteer Kirsty Ann-Watters, as she spoke to koi collective about their new play Hysterical.
Canalside Stories: Wellbeing Walk
Using the canal surroundings and personal experiences, Inesa Vėlavičiūtė reports on how participants in this wellbeing walk wove a fictional story step by step.
Canalside Stories: Seeding Stories of Change
Talking Heads volunteer Inesa shares her experience and artwork from Seeding Stories of Change, a creative workshop led by Fountainbridge Canalside Community Trust.
The Reconnect Collection
Talking Heads volunteer Dipalika Mohanty has created this artistic response to The Reconnect Collection, a joint exhibition by Project Ability and Art in the Gart.
Canalside Stories: Water Tales
Picture the scene: on a warm autumn day, a boat takes you on an artistic journey while cruising along the canal. Inesa Vėlavičiūtė reports on this workshop by Fountainbridge Canalside Community Trust through writing and video.
Canalside Stories: Sketching to Connect with Nature
For as long as human beings have been creating art, nature has been a source of inspiration. Inesa Vėlavičiūtė reports on this sketching workshop, part of Canalside Stories.
Speakin’ Oor Mind
Talking Heads volunteer Sarah Visser writes about Speakin’ Oor Mind, an informal spoken word and open mic event hosted by See Me as part of SMHAF 2023.
The Alma Project: What does protest mean for you?
Rachel Alexander describes her experience participating in an art and writing workshop with The Alma Project, exploring the question: What does protest mean for you?.
Seven Revolutionary Ideas at Creative Pecha Kucha Night
This Pecha Kucha night showcased budding North Lanarkshire artists and their creative ideas regarding mental health awareness and support
Writing Awards 2023 winners announced
Discover the winners of our 2023 Writing Awards competition, which explores mental health and ‘revolution’ through fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction.
‘Revolution’ Commissions
‘Revolution’ is the theme for the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2023. We have commissioned five artists to create new work to address this theme – and posed a challenge to established ways of thinking.
Untinned Animal
Jamie Bolland was commissioned to develop a processional performance and a series of downloadable pamphlets inspired by our ‘revolution’ theme.
Be Nice to Yourself You Little Shit I Swear to God
Be Kind To Yourself You Little Shit I Swear To God is a humorous spoken word guided meditation by Jen McGregor for those of us who might know how to give gentleness but have no idea how to receive it.
we depend on each other
Four immigrant women discuss the mental health challenges they faced after arriving in Scotland in this short documentary by Bircan Birol.
An Archive of Propaganda from a Mad People’s Uprising
Lilith (Lea) Cooper is an artist, zine librarian and researcher based in Kirkcaldy, Fife. They have created an archive of future propaganda exploring what a mad revolution would look like.
The Flood and the Fire
Artists and community educators Keira McLean and Joey Simons have created a revolutionary mixed-media montage and a pedagogical workbook.
Writing Awards 2023
Read the shortlisted entries from this year’s writing competition, collected in a book illustrated by Nisan Yetkin and designed by Hamish Gibson.
The winning writers, selected from over 200 entries to the competition, were announced at our Writing Awards on Sunday 22 October, hosted by poet and playwright Hannah Lavery.
Congratulations to the winners:
Victoria Reid (Creative Non-Fiction & Overall)
Rachel Gorry (Fiction)
Suzanne Smith (Poetry)
Featured Events
Out of Sight Out of Mind
The 11th Out of Sight Out of Mind exhibition presents artworks made by over 200 people who have experience of mental health issues.
TALK
Three times as many men as women die by suicide. TALK is an ongoing portraiture project by Edinburgh-based photographer Graham Williams, exploring the subject of men’s mental health.
Conversation with the Friendship Bench Project
Afro Art Lab’s Fadzai Mwakutuya, invites you to an online conversation with Professor Dixon Chibanda of the Friendship Bench, a community-based therapeutic programme in Zimbabwe.
Mental Health, Migration and Rights For All
Join us for a day of solidarity, creativity and training, exploring how our mental health is affected by inequality and oppression where struggles, joys and collective power to make a change meet.
A Different Gravitation: Exhibition of Summer Engagement Project
An exhibition of photographs and poems highlighting the positive benefits of skating for mental health and wellbeing, created during summer engagement sessions hosted by UHI Inverness in collaboration with the Highland Skate Parks Association.
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