Introducing Thrive for a Day, a brand new one-day takeover of Leith Arches for World Mental Health Day!

Thrive, their partners and individual artists will work together to create a joyful and engaging space in which audiences can celebrate and participate in arts for wellbeing. From sea shanty singing to the performance of a play written collaboratively with Scottish prisoners, this diverse and lively programme showcases the fantastic wellbeing work done by organisations across Edinburgh.

Check out the full confirmed programme below or download a PDF copy.

Main Hall:

• 2-2.10pm: Welcome to Thrive Arts Takeover!
• 2.15-2.30pm: Ahoy There! Sea Shanties with Joss Cameron
• 2.45-3pm: Queer Folks’ Tales with Turan Ali
• 3.15-3.30pm: Bugle Poets – poets from Bethany Christian Trust’s long-running creative writing group share some of their work.
• 3.45-4.45pm: Premiere of animation Flipping Date Night, followed by an interactive workshop exploring body image and mental health. Supported by Media Education.
• 5-6pm: Bethany Christian Trust: Creative Expressions – the first public performance of play Insider, written collaboratively with Scottish prisoners, which has toured to 11 Scottish prisons. It is a powerful insight into the realities of prison life; the boredom, the banter, the fights; the devastation and the search for hope.
• 6.15-6.45pm: The creative co-production of Overcoming Bulimia Nervosa – The newest edition of Overcoming Bulimia Nervosa, written by Professor Peter Cooper & Professor Patricia Graham, has been completely re-vamped in collaboration with CAPS’s ‘Seen But Not Heard’ collective advocacy group. This event will allow us to reflect on the journey and the experience of rewriting a book with the voice of lived experience throughout.
• 7.15-8.30pm: Mad Jam Open Mic – Lights, Music, Action – open mic space

Mezzanine Area (2-9pm):

• Here We Are – contribute to Cyrenians’ Youth Participation’s interactive artspace, exploring the theme of In/Visible
• Access to Industry – outputs from creative writing
• iThrive – information stall
• LGBT Health – information stall promoting queer community in Edinburgh
• Drawn Together exhibition – people experiencing homelessness display expressive artworks exploring mental health
• LGBT Youth Scotland Neurographic Art Workshop – come along and try badge-making!

Porch Area:

• LGBT Health (2-9pm) – mindful art and resources
• Scran Academy (5-7pm) – serving soup and rolls