NI Mental Health Arts & Film Festival

Northern Ireland was the only part of the UK and Ireland that did not have a specific festival devoted to mental health and the arts.

The festival spans music and song, film, visual arts & photography, poetry and wellness. It has been organized by a steering group with a wide range of individuals and organisations from the arts sector, the mental health sector, community and voluntary sectors (including Action Mental Health).

The aims of the festival include:

• Celebrating mental health
• Challenging stigma and mental health inequalities
• Making connections between public, arts, and community organisations
• Reaching those often missed by both the arts & health education models
• Supporting recovery and wellbeing and reduce self-stigma through participation in the creative process
• Creating enduring partnerships and projects

 

The festival ran from 10th – 13th October 2013 and AMH took part on World Mental Health Day (10th October) with the launch of our Men’s Shed project in Downpatrick in the morning. You can view photos from the event on our Facebook page here.

Then later that evening, at the Film Festival Night, our film “Prisoners of the Past” was shown at the Studio Island Arts Centre, Lisburn. ​Clients at AMH New Horizons in Downpatrick worked collaboratively with Blue Bird Media Company and the Down County Museum to create a film exploring crime and punishment in the old Downpatrick Gaol in the 1800’s.

To find out more visit the dedicated NIMHAFF website here.