SMHAF Podcast

Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival

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Arts

Mental Health Arts is a year-round arts programme led by the Mental Health Foundation Scotland, built around the annual Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival (SMHAF). Established in 2007, the festival is one of the largest of its kind in the world and among Scotland's most diverse cultural events, covering everything from music, film and visual art to theatre, dance, and literature.

10/26/2024

Invisible M*ther

Invisible M*ther is a collaborative piece by Rebecca Livesey-Wright and Indra Wilson, commissioned by the Mental Health Foundation for the 2024 Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival. The piece uses polyvocal writing techniques to to visibilise hidden maternal narratives whilst affording an element of anonymity important for preserving a safe space for both ourselves and those who are adjacent to our stories.

4 min
10/26/2024

Flutter

Flutter explores the constant interruption of Tourette’s to everyday life, through small sounds as well as the shame which can be experienced when experiencing tics. A collection of erratic, arhythmic voclisations are counterbalanced by soothing lullaby-esque humming, exploring both shame and empathy. Fragments of spoken word explore the complexities of this condition alongside public perception. The work addresses the festival theme of Invisible, particularly considering masking in women (Tourette’s is often underdiagnosed in women, or symptoms are less noticeable whilst still being present).

4 min
10/26/2024

Premonitory Urges

Premonitory Urges is a sonic exploration of the sensation experienced by Tourette’s sufferers which is an overwhelming sensation to perform a tic, an experience similar to the urge to blink. This work uses sound and voice to express this buildup and release. It also uses sine and saw waves to act as a grounding solace providing a drone underneath the vocals. Other sounds include groans and also vocalised inhales, common tics experienced personally by the artist. As the piece progresses, it transitions into a harmonious blend of choral and ambient electronic elements, culminating in a euphoric soundscape that symbolises the calming effect of sound and singing on the body.

3 min
10/26/2024

Sit Still

Sit Still is a choral composition for four voices that delves into society's assumption that stillness comes naturally. It challenges the notion that movement—such as fidgeting or wriggling—is a sign of disengagement, immaturity, or misbehavior. The work draws on the artist’s reflections on her own self-criticism for struggling to achieve stillness, especially in moments when it feels most necessary.

3 min
10/26/2024

Wax and Wane

Wax and Wane is a vocal exploration of the shifting nature of tics within the body, transforming from physical motion to vocal expressions, varying in complexity and intensity throughout the artist's life. Tics, particularly those linked with Tourette's, often diminish or become less visible at certain times of day or during different life stages. Stress can exacerbate them, while at other times, they retreat inward, becoming internal sensations only the person experiencing them can feel, yet still causing interruptions, like a subtle flutter beneath the skin.

2 min
10/10/2024

Silent Men & Men Don't Talk: Duncan Cowles meets Clare Prenton

Two of the big events at the 2024 Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival are Men Don’t Talk, a play written by Clare Prenton which tours Scotland from 18 November, and Silent Men, a documentary by film-maker Duncan Cowles which is screening as part of our Film Awards programme at the CCA in Glasgow before touring to cinemas across Scotland. Both set out to explore why men can be so reluctant to talk about mental health. Here, Duncan and Clare meet for the first time and compare notes on what they discovered.

20 min
09/19/2024

Performing Anxiety: Nye Russell Thompson interview

Performing Anxiety: Nye Russell Thompson interview by Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival

45 min
12/12/2023

Quiet Revolution

Reflecting light and stillness, and the process of creativity and the essential part this can play in all of our wellbeing. Some Revolutions are ongoing, peaceful, and very quiet. This track is by Talking Heads volunteer Paul Duncan, composed in response to the exhibition Photography Revolution by Dundee-based mental health charity Wellbeing Works. Paul is a classically trained musician who is currently based in Perth and who composes music both as an outlet for his creativity and also for the therapeutic value that it brings into his wellbeing. Short examples of his compositions are on his Soundcloud page https://on.soundcloud.com/n1Nh5.

4 min

Mental Health Arts is a year-round arts programme led by the Mental Health Foundation Scotland, built around the annual Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival (SMHAF). Established in 2007, the festival is one of the largest of its kind in the world and among Scotland's most diverse cultural events, covering everything from music, film and visual art to theatre, dance, and literature.

Creator

Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival
Years Active

2017 - 2024
Episodes

112
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© All rights reserved
Show Website

SMHAF Podcast