Manifesto – the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival’s opening event – is an ambitious, day-long happening that will explore the questions: What does a mental health revolution look like? And how do we start one?
We’ve invited prominent artists and activists to deliver a series of creative provocations. The diverse line-up includes songwriting collective Hen Hoose, socio-political artist Heather Marshall, poet Imogen Stirling and musician Sonia Killmann, writer and performer Skye Loneragan, and art and science collective Traumascapes.
The theme of this year’s festival – taking place across Scotland from 4 – 22 October 2023 – is ‘revolution’. In the midst of political and economic turbulence, the festival seeks to confront the impact of economic barriers and social inequality on our mental health, and ask ‘how we can do things differently?’.
Join us at Manifesto and together we will create a collective statement and manifesto for social change. Don’t miss this inspiring and thought-provoking day of performances, live music, discussions, film screenings, participatory workshops and more.
Some activities are free and drop-in and don’t need to be booked in advance. This includes artist Heather Marshall‘s interactive session She’s on the Roof for which she’ll invite audience members to develop a communal installation: a visual Manifesto of Care.
How to book
Day Passes for Manifesto are available using ‘pay what you can’ pricing at £5 / £10 / £15 and enable you to book for five events during the day. Each person attending must book their own Day Pass.
Tickets for individual events are now available and cost £3 each. You can book Manifesto’s individual events via the below links.
Please book your ticket for Manifesto’s evening event Hen Hoose: Power Up (Wed 4 Oct, 7.30-9.30pm) separately. It costs £5 / £10 / £15, on a ‘pay what you can’ basis.
To ensure that everyone can access Manifesto, free tickets and passes are also available upon request at smhaf@mentalhealth.org.uk. Please also email us if you would like to make a group booking on behalf of an organisation.
Main image: Heather Marshall (c. Chris Scott)
Line-Up
Book for individual events via the below links. Alternatively, book your Manifesto Day Pass via the link on the right-hand side of this page.
A World Without Stigma
See Me host a relaxed, interactive workshop over a light breakfast which imagines a future without mental health stigma and explores how we might get there.
10:30am – 11:30am
Art as Activism
How do we combine art and activism? For our opening session we explore this question with a talk by award-winning activist Ally Zlatar and short, provocative performances by Scottish artists Jamie Bolland and Mark Gould.
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Can a Universal Basic Income Solve the Mental Health Crisis?
Matthew Smith, Professor of Health History at University of Strathclyde, leads an interactive discussion exploring whether Universal Basic Income might be the answer to the mental health crisis.
1:00pm – 2:00pm
Zines for Wellbeing
In this collaborative zine-making workshop, Bryony Nisbet and Dr Emmaleena Käkelä invite participants to take a deep dive into this DIY artform.
1:30pm – 3:00pm
Skye Loneragan: May Contain Nuts (*)
A new comedy questioning what drives a need to verify fictional depictions of mental illness as true, and who gets to decide.
This performance is BSL interpreted.
2:00pm – 3:00pm
Living With Trauma
What does living with trauma feel like for different people? Join the With Us, For Us group for this short film premiere and discussion.
3:00pm – 4:00pm
Imogen Stirling & Sonia Killmann: The Boulders We Carry
Writer and performer Imogen Stirling and electronic musician Sonia Killmann present a vivid, intimate and immersive storytelling experience based on the myth of Sisyphus.
4:00pm – 5:00pm
Traumascapes: On Survivors’ Terms
Can filmmaking be a channel through which to resist and disrupt oppressive systemic storylines and reclaim the narrative of trauma and mental health on survivors’ own terms?
Captioned films and BSL interpretation.
5:00pm – 6:00pm
Heather Marshall
Socio-political artist and writer Heather Marshall presents an interactive installation in which she asks audiences: ‘What do you care enough about to start a revolution for?’.
11:30am – 1:30pm & 3:30pm – 7:00pm
Hen Hoose: Power Up
Glasgow-based songwriting collective Hen Hoose have teamed up with SMHAF for a celebratory headline gig inspired by the theme of ‘Revolution’, with sets from Sarah Hayes, Ray Aggs and SHEARS.
Please note that this event is booked separately from the Day Pass.
7:30pm – 9:30pm (Doors 7:00pm)
Images: See Me; Ally Zlatar; Professor Matthew Smith; Zines for Wellbeing c. Emmaleena Kakela; Skye Loneragan c. Roddy Simpson; Scottish Recovery Network; Imogen Stirling c. Andy Ross; Traumascapes; Heather Marshall c. Chris Scott.; Ray Aggs c. Hen Hoose.