Mental Health Arts & Film Festival

The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival, now in its sixth year, is an annual program of events held in October that seeks to support the arts in Scotland while challenging our ideas about mental health. Events take place in a number of regions across the country (though not in Aberdeenshire, which is typical), featuring arts such as theatre, dance, poetry, photography, comedy, film, painting, storytelling and music, from a huge number of local groups and better-known talents.

A brochure of events is available here, or in an interactive format on the MHFestival website, and i'd strongly recommend giving it a look to see what's available in your local area.

Things kick off with pre-festival gig held in Mono in Glasgow on Sept 27th - that's this Thursday - featuring a number of musical talents, including Midnight Lion (whose track 'Sleeping in the Woods' i played so much that Spotify won't let me listen to it anymore), and then events get properly underway on October 1st.

If time, money and distance were no object, other events i'd be dropping in on might include:

• Re-Capture, a photography exhibition, at Elgin Youth Cafe from Oct 1st-6th.
• Walk In My Shoes comedy gig, available in a number of venues from Oct 2nd-11th. 
•  The Space Between movie screening at the East Kilbride Arts Centre on Oct 4th or 14th.
• Our Dundee - A Young People's Film, at Dundee Contemporary Arts on Oct 7th.    
• Writing As Therapy, a workshop with John Sawkins at RGU, Aberdeen on Oct 9th.  
• The Laramie Project, performed at East Kilbride Arts Centre from Oct 10th-13th.
• Create Paisley's 'Sidling Bears' poetry slam at the Grumpy Monkey Coffee House, Paisley on Oct 16th.
• The International Film Awards at the Filmhouse Cinema in Edinburgh on Oct 24th.
• Music Like A Vitamin at the HMV Picturehouse, Edinburgh, on Oct 25th, with performers including Fatherson and Rod Jones of Idlewild.

There really is something available for everyone and it's a project that's well worth our support as it continues to develop and grow.

What events will you be checking out?