What’s it all about?
The festival aims to showcase ways in which The Arts can be both powerful medicine and potent inspiration. ARTS AND MINDS 2010 will give you a taste of what’s to come on a bigger scale in the future for England’s very own Arts & Mental Health Festival.
We hear often the statistic that one in four people will suffer from some kind of mental health problem in their lifetime. We wanted to put on a festival that showcases work about and by these people: films we don’t always manage to catch the first time around, new releases, local artists, musicians and poets from further afield.
So this is it: Year One. We’re starting small, and hope that you come and support us. Come along to see some cutting edge comedy. Drop in to see one of the films we’re showing. Contact us with your ideas. Watch the website for updates and most of all, spread the word so that next year we can put on more of your work and more cutting edge debate and performances.
Who are We?
The festival is the brainchild of two people from pretty different walks of life who wanted to set up some kind of event to showcase some of the arts, film, documentary, comedy and ideas that tackle issues to do with mental health and the arts head on. One of us - Susannah - is a documentary maker who’s spent the last 12 years wandering the world meeting people from different cultures and making films about them. The other - Gavin - is of the Director of Cambridge-based charity ARTS AND MINDS
The two of us met in the summer of 2009 for a lunchtime curry which stretched into an evening curry and a long conversation where the idea of the ARTS AND MINDS FESTIVAL was born.
We both feel passionately that the arts have a powerful potential not only to combat stigma but also to present ideas and debates about mental wellbeing and mental illness, and to begin to challenge the way society regards people who have mental health issues of varying degrees.
Prices
We’re charging standard Junction rates for the main events but we’ve kept the cost down on other events and on ALL concession rates. We want the events to be accessible to those on low income and to students.
Volunteers
We’re a not-for-profit venture and are all working voluntarily. We are always on the look out for bright and committed individuals who are prepared to get involved.
If you would like to help out in this year’s festival and are free to work in the run-up and over the weekend of 16-17 October 2010 please contact us .
We’re looking particularly for people to help us in the following roles to help us expand and grow in 2011:
- Social Networking
- Front of House
- Designers
We’re also on Facebook
