We’re delighted to announce that our 2024 programme is now online – you can browse and book tickets here.
There are over 220 events taking place across Scotland from 10-27 October, from Orkney to Dumfries, and Lewis to Edinburgh!
Events are inspired by the theme ‘In/Visible’, creatively exploring what it means to be ‘visible’ or ‘invisible’ when we think about our mental health. Which aspects of our mental health do we keep hidden and which do we share? Who is made to feel unseen and unheard? And how do we challenge the inequalities and systems of power that render people ‘invisible’?
Events have been curated by the festival team, local communities, artists and activists. Join us this October to explore our diverse multi-art form programme.
Festival highlights
There are over 220 brilliant events taking place across Scotland – you can search the programme by date, location, event type and key word. Here are some highlights to get you started…
Now You See Us, a special two-day showcase of artist commissions, creative workshops, vital discussions, film screenings and more, including work from musician and poet Simone Seales; self-defined schizospectrum playwright Jen McGregor; and Scottish Indian actor and writer Sanjay Lago. Glasgow, 25 & 26 October
A special focus on men’s mental health includes a nationwide tour of Men Don’t Talk (18 Oct – 23 Nov), a new play by Clare Prenton; preview screenings of Duncan Cowles’ feature documentary Silent Men (19–24 Oct) which takes us on a journey through male mental health, stigma and taboo; and TALK. Portraits (10–24 Oct), Graham Williams’ interactive outdoor photography trail across Edinburgh which aims to encourage men to talk about their mental health.
Our International Film Awards and programme returns after a year’s absence, celebrating winning films across categories such as personal narrative, human rights and experimental, selected from a record-breaking 400 submissions. Glasgow, 16-19 Oct
Our Power exhibition, the culmination of a Mental Health Foundation project, launches at Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art. This display of visual art was created by people with lived experience of racist microaggressions to explore the impacts it has on their mental health. Glasgow, 10 Oct – 31 Dec
Thrive for a Day, a brand new one-day takeover of Edinburgh’s Leith Arches for World Mental Health Day. From a sea shanty singing workshop to the performance of a play written collaboratively with Scottish prisoners, this dynamic programme showcases the range of wellbeing work done by organisations across Edinburgh.10 Oct
Out of Sight Out of Mind, the biggest mental health themed group art exhibition in Scotland with a massive 365 artists participating this year, over three floors of Summerhall in Edinburgh. 9–27 Oct
Highlights from across Scotland
Most of the events in our programme are curated and developed by partner organisations and communities across Scotland. Here are just a few we have picked out for you…
To Tell or Not to Tell, Scottish rapper and social commentator Darren McGarvey and Peers of North Ayrshire Wellbeing &Recovery College team up to explore the value and challenge of sharing a traumatic lived experience publicly. Irvine, 15 Oct
Spellbinding multimedia performance Held on the High Wire, merges the story of Jenny Q’s near-death experience and new life on metal legs with Myshkin Warbler’s haunting Folk/Jazz music. Lairg, Inverness & Fort William, 12, 13 & 26 Oct
Multi-layered event, Discovering Hartwood, shares stories about the history of a former psychiatric hospital, through storytelling, song, film, drama workshops and an exhibition. Shotts, 19 Oct
Walk in the Invisible Footsteps of Robert Tannahill in an interactive walk, including poetry recitals and music, which takes in key places in the Paisley poet’s life and works. Paisley, 16 & 19 Oct
Shed, a brand-new project from Northern Rascals that uses visual art, spoken word and performance to raise awareness of the issues young people face with their mental health. Melrose, 9 Oct
Stop Being In/Visible, an exhibition by artists with learning disabilities exploring what mental health means to them, aims to put the subject centre stage. Aberdeen, 11–24 Oct
The Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival takes place from 10-27 October 2024. Explore the programme and book tickets here.
