Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival returns to venues around Scotland from Wednesday 4– Sunday 22 October. From Edinburgh to Glasgow and Thurso to Hawick, events will explore a central theme of ‘Revolution’ through the mediums of music, film, theatre, performance art and visual art. 

Opening the festival on Wednesday 4 October is a full-day Manifesto event focusing on the central question ‘What does a mental health revolution look like?’, featuring performances from song writing collective Hen Hoose, Sonia Killman, poet and theatre director Skye Loneragan, socio-political artist Heather Marshall and science collective Traumascapes. Read more about the opening event.

Also among the programme’s highlights, director Carol Morley is set to present a special preview of her new film Typist Artist Pirate, a tragi-comic biopic of the artist Audrey Amiss, followed by a Q&A at Dundee Contemporary Arts (10 October); a special retrospective exhibition celebrating the life of artist Mary Barnes titled Rebirth & Revolution explores links between creativity and recovery from mental illness (ARC, University Of Glasgow); and five specially commissioned works on display throughout the run will see Jamie Bolland, Joey Simons and Keira McLean, Lilith Cooper, Bircan Birol and Jen McGregor respond to the festival's central theme through their own unique disciplines. 

With a strong belief in a ‘grassroots up’ approach, Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival also boasts a comprehensive community-led strand. This includes brand new play Hysterical created by all-female theatre company koi collective; an evening of screening and discussions focusing on the experiences of former patients and staff at Crichton Royal Asylum in Up The Middle Road: Crichton Stories Of Resilience And Recovery (Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre, Dumfries, 20 October); and a series of workshops and talks marking World Menopause Month taking place across Edinburgh, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, including This Is A Vulva...It’s Not A Rude Word (Salisbury Centre, Edinburgh, 19 October).

Arts Programme Officer Andrew Eaton-Lewis at the Mental Health Foundation, the organisation leading the festival, says: ‘We’re excited to discover how artists, activists and community groups across Scotland respond to the theme of Revolution. After enduring years of lockdown, cuts to vital services, rising prices and interest rates, it’s fair to say that a lot of people’s mental health is in a fragile state. People are frustrated, exhausted and angry, and this year’s festival, more than ever before, is about art and activism.’

Discover the full Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival programme online at mhfestival.com