Holding Space is a networking event looking at the arts, displacement and mental health presented by Counterpoints Arts and the MAC Belfast For this free in-person gathering, we will hold space for artists, refugees, activists, organisers, health & wellbeing workers, creatives and migrant justice workers to come together to consider the role of art and creativity and its impact on the mental health and wellbeing of refugees and asylum seekers. The day will be structured around guest speakers and small group discussions, offering an opportunity to reflect on what good practice looks like and to discuss some of the opportunities and challenges that may be faced when developing creative projects by and with newly arrived communities with a focus on addressing mental health needs. We will also consider the mental support required by creative practitioners in these contexts and the wider systemic issues that impact negatively on mental health. The event will close with a community supper. This event is produced by Counterpoints Arts in collaboration with the MAC About Counterpoints Arts Counterpoints Arts is a leading organisation in the field of arts, migration and cultural change. We support the arts by and about refugees and migrants and we produce a range of programmes in the UK and internationally, including Refugee Week, PopChange and Platforma festival. Our work takes place at the intersection of climate, racial justice, mental health and displacement. Central to our mission is our belief that art is much more than an aesthetic experience; that it can open spaces for people to talk across differences, inspire community participation and foster a more compassionate society. Our new strand of work on mental health builds on the findings of a report we published last year, titled Creatively Minded and Refugees, commissioned by The Baring Foundation as part of their ‘Creatively Minded’ series.  Given the challenging and complex realities many artists and communities in our network have had to navigate, mental health has normally been implicit in our projects; from being forced to leave one’s homeland and losing one’s community to navigating a convoluted asylum system and being welcomed by a ‘hostile environment’, these factors can inevitably have compounding, and often harmful effects on anyone’s mental health and wellbeing. Over the course of the next two years, we plan to put the conversation of mental health at the heart of our activity and programming.