Edinburgh-based, women-run charity Spit It Out has unveiled its second festival, which spans ten days and features 48 acts across ten venues. Find the full programme here. 

Focusing on creative ways to talk about mental health and heal from trauma, the Spit it Out Festival (taking place from Thursday 15 – Sunday 25 June) is an immersive arts and community-driven festival featuring exhibitions, workshops, talks, film screenings, live performances and parties, all held in inclusive, safe and accessible spaces. A festival launch will take place on Saturday 20 May, a ceilidh and live ceilidh band Collateral Dramage.

Highlights from the programe include headline performances from Hak Baker and JGRREY, new solo exhibitions by Sophia Bharmal, Nikki Kilburn and Regina Mosch, with screenings presented by the Scottish Documentary Institute This Is Endometriosis and What It Means To Be. Joining the screenings are a diversity of workshops led by BPOC Mental Health and Advocacy Experts, Cradle Community, GRRRL Crush, Horny4CHange, Penumbra, Skateboobs and more. 

^{Skateboobs, Scotland's first Queer inclusive skateboarding crew, will hold a workshop at the festival}

Other exciting highlights from the programme include nights of live music at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow and Summerhall in Edinburgh, an evening of Zambian poetry, a humorous discussion group on a white man’s place in a marginalised world, and better sex workshops with the trainer and sex-positive workshop facilitator Ruth Eliot. 

Spit It Out co-founder and SAMAs 2021 Best Newcomer Bee Asha said: ‘We are so excited to bring the second Spit It Out Festival to Scotland. Showcasing the educators, creatives, and activists who are doing the work and supporting the change that we believe will make for a more inclusive and equitable society. From embroidery to boxing it’s going to be fun and interactive. Sometimes even a little controversial.’

^{Queen of Harps, who'll perform as part of a packed evening at Summerhall on Saturday 24 June}

SiO co-founder and documentary filmmaker Lea Luiz De Oliveira said: ‘We are committed to making Spit it Out a place where people can come together, be part of something unique, discover new aspects of themselves and find hope. These last few months, we are lucky to have had the opportunity to collaborate with talented and inspiring artists, researchers, organisations, and our community.’

The Spit It Out charity is run by a team of women with their own experiences and expertise in recovering from trauma and mental illness, who came together to build a new community platform to instigate change and challenge people’s perspectives. The charity is committed to providing much-needed spaces for education, open discussion and support around often taboo and difficult subjects including topics of consent, transformative justice, sex education, racism, LGBTQIA+ rights, mental illness and body image.

Read Spit It Out’s full programme here.