Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival

Drummers at the Kelvingrove Art Galleries and Museum, part of the very successful 'Journeys of Experience' event (Thurs 15th Oct 09) >>

The Festival is now over for another year.

2009 audience figures are estimated at over 10,000!

The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival, aimed at transforming attitudes towards mental health, goes from strength to strength, as it looks forward to the fourth year in 2010.

Over 200 arts events took place in venues ranging from town halls to miners clubs, universities to hospitals, libraries to cafes and many iconic arts venues including Kelvingrove Art Galleries, Eden Court Theatre and the Old Fruitmarket.

Well known faces both attended and contributed to the three week Festival including musicians Emma Pollock, Karine Polwart, Rod Jones, Frightened Rabbit, James Yorkston, Norman Blake, Graeme Duffin, Alasdair Roberts, John DeSimone and Attic Lights; writers Tom Leonard, Liz Lochhead and Denise Mina; plus world champion cyclist Graeme Obree and Billy Elliot film star Gary Lewis also engaged audiences.

Whilst community groups, local artists, students, writing groups, health practitioners and people who access mental health services, also got involved in shaping the diverse and entertaining bill of events on offer in 2009.

The Festival would like to thank a number of organisations for making SMHAFF 2009 a huge success including:

Aberdeen City Council, ACUMEN, Artlink Central, Bazooka Arts, Black Swan Dance Theatre, Bookends Theatre Group, Brunton Theatre, Cameo Cinema, CCA, Coatbridge College, Cowane Centre, Creative Balm, Culture & Sport Glasgow, The Dance House, Dead Good Poets, Dundee Voluntary Action, East Kilbride Arts Centre, East Renfrewshire Council, East Renfrewshire Mental Health Forum, Eastwood Park Theatre, Eden Court Theatre, Edinburgh Film House, Edinburgh HMV Picture House, Firefly Arts, GAMH, Gartnavel Royal Hospital, Glasgow Film Theatre, Gmac, Grosvenor Cinema, Harbour Arts Centre, Health in Mind, Highland User Group, Kelvingrove Art Galleries & Museum, Lapidus Scotland, Lothian Mental Health & Wellbeing Team, Maryhall Integration Network, Maryhill Library, Mitchell Library, Motherwell Concert Hall, National Theatre of Scotland, Neilston Library, Old Fruitmarket, Oor Voices, Paisley Arts Centre, Paisley Town Hall, PEST, Plantation Productions, Platform, PlatForum, Plus Perth, Pollockshields Health Shop, Polyphony, Postitve Mental Attitudes, Project Ability, RAMH, Reachout with Arts in Mind, Reid Kerr College, Renfrewshire Council, Rhyme & Reason Poetry Group, Right2dance, Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre, Rutherglen Town Hall, Scotland in Europe, Scottish Storytelling Centre, Scottish Youth Theatre, Solar Bear Theatre Company, StepUp, Teatro, The Buddy Beat, The Citizens Theatre, The Lemon Tree, The Pearce Institute, Thirdthursdaysessionayr, Thorntree Hall, The Tolbooth, Toonspeak Youth Theatre, Tricky Hat Productions, Universal Comedy, University of Cumbria, University of Glasgow, University of West of Scotland, Viewpoints Film Group, WAC Theatre, Walled Garden, Waterfront Cinema and Wisecraft.