In 2026, the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival (SMHAF) celebrates 20 years of bringing people together through the arts and mental health with the theme of Reflections.

Over the past two decades, many thousands of audience members, artists, participants, partners and volunteers have shaped SMHAF across Scotland, through events, exhibitions, workshops, films, performances. To celebrate this milestone year, we’re launching a campaign to collect and share short reflections from the people who have been part of the festival along the way.

We’ll be sharing these reflections gradually over the coming months across our digital platforms, helping to celebrate our history while looking ahead to what comes next.

Get Involved

We’re inviting people to contribute micro-stories (up to 100 words) that capture a memorable moment connected to SMHAF, or reflect on the role that the arts and mental health have played in their lives.

Your story might be about:

• An event, artwork or performance that stayed with you
• Your first experience of SMHAF
• What it meant to be involved as an artist, participant, volunteer or partner
• How creativity has supported your mental health

There’s no right kind of story, we’re interested in honest, personal reflections that illustrate our community’s experiences of the festival over its first two decades.

If you’d like to take part, you can submit your story using the form below.