Image Shown: Public Consultation

First Fortnight will be hosting the European Mental Health Arts Festival in Ireland in January 2019. They are seeking to work closely with representatives from the wider European community in Ireland to help build the festival. There will a Public Consultation Forum at Wood Quay Venue in Dublin on 7 June 2018. 

The European Festival

First Fortnight is an Irish charity that challenges mental health prejudice through cultural action. First Fortnight also provides creative therapy to marginalised groups. Since 2009 First Fortnight has produced 7 national mental health arts festivals challenging mental health prejudice and ending stigma. In 2017, they outbid 12 countries from 22 organisations to host Europe’s Mental Health Festival in Ireland.

For decades Ireland has been home to citizens from every corner of Europe who have enriched our society. Our presentation of this festival will provide a platform to embrace the vibrancy of modern Ireland but also to reflect on the pressures that modern society can place on our mental health, with an emphasis on the European community. We are challenging artists to submit artistically ambitious mental health themed work with an emphasis on multicultural themes and providing voices for the people of Europe.

Accessibility and inclusiveness are the cornerstones of our programming policy as mental health applies to all of us and transcends European borders. We believe this festival will help strengthen the idea of the Irish seeing themselves as European and be a strong reminder of the many opportunities the European Union offers its citizens.

The festival will be held in January 2019 in Dublin and regional venues with satellite events planned throughout the country.

The Public Consultation Forum

We want the festival to be as representative of the European community as possible. In preparation for the festival, we are holding a Public Consultation Forum on Thursday 7 June in Wood Quay Venue, Dublin 8 at 2.30pm – 5pm and 6.30pm – 8.30pm to hear from the public, European representatives, the arts and mental health sectors as well as community leaders.

We want to hear what your vision for a European Mental Health Arts Festival is. We are hosting two identical sessions to be as widely accessible as possible. Each session will be structured with attendees being divided into facilitated groups to answer questions and give feedback, which will be used to help shape the festival programme for January.

This is a free but ticketed event. To book for one of the two sessions available, please click here.

*Light refreshments will be served*

The Festival Submission Process

As part of this process we will be inviting proposals for consideration to the festival programme, which will receive bursaries if selected for inclusion. For more information on the submission call-out and how to submit proposals, please click here. Deadline for proposals is 29 June 2018.

www.firstfortnight.ie

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