NEWS
LIFE MATTERS
Rebecca Monks fi nds out about The Dust of Everyday Life, a symposium which uses the arts to smash stigmas of mental health
P H O T O
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: J A N N C A H O N E Y
COMING UP SOUTHSIDE FRINGE Seventeen days of music, theatre and more in the south of Glasgow. The full programme has yet to be announced, but look out for Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 at the O2 Academy. Various venues, Glasgow, Fri 12–Sun 28 May.
MEADOWS FESTIVAL Local bands and performance groups gather on the busiest stretch of grass in the city, as this local arts festival settles in for another year. Make sure you check out the funfair, too. The Meadows, Edinburgh, Sat 3 & Sun 4 Jun.
experiencing
‘M aking or art, sharing stories and songs: it’s all essential for our mental health,’ says Andrew Eaton-Lewis. He’s discussing The Dust of Everyday Life, an annual symposium organised by the Mental Health Foundation and See Me, which he has programmed for the last three years.
The conl uence between mental health campaigning and the art world is at the heart of this event, which features open discussions and informative talks on both subjects. Dust, Eaton-Lewis says, ‘is a meeting of minds between people who work in the arts and people who work in the health sector.’
This year, the programme is full and varied. Neu! Reekie!’s Kevin Williamson and playwright Lynda Radley will discuss ‘Art in a Time of Anxiety’, psychiatrist Dr Akeem Sule and neuroscientist Dr Becky Inkster will present ‘Hip Hop Psych’ (a discussion about empowering others and removing stigmas surrounding mental health and hip hop), singer Adele Bethel and poet Sean Hunt will discuss the impact of Leonard Cohen, and theatre- maker Jenna Watt will be presenting her specially commissioned piece, Helpline. While the event’s main focus is to serve as a symposium for artists and those working in mental health, it also operates as a thinktank of sorts for the annual Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival, which runs in October. ‘It’s an opportunity for us to rel ect on the festival and how we can develop and improve what we do,’ Eaton-Lewis says. ‘[SMHAFF] is a community festival which involves a lot of people, from both the arts and mental health sectors. This is another opportunity to bring together that community and to expand on it by making new connections.’
12 THE LIST 1 Apr–31 May 2017
Important relationships have been forged at Dust in the past. When director Cora Bissett was there talking about her production of Glasgow Girls, she heard spoken word artist Jenny Lindsay performing her poem, ‘Today’, a powerful meditation on the impact of anxiety and depression. Bissett was so struck that the poem became an important focal point in a piece she directed shortly afterwards. Angie Dight, artistic director of performance company Mischief La-Bas, the symposium shortly after the death of her husband, Ian Smith. He had just taken his own life after living with depression. Dight ended up working alongside the organisation on the Festival of Ian Smith, an event dedicated to his memory. attended
Eaton-Lewis believes that the connection between the arts and mental health is invaluable in this way. ‘It’s all storytelling,’ he says. ‘And it’s about the kind of stories we tell. Quite often we hear stories about mental illness that are stigmatising and therefore not helpful. That can be damaging. We as an organisation want to try and tell better stories; stories that humanise people and don’t stigmatise.’ Dust is about exactly that: communicating honestly and thoughtfully, and using the arts to break down barriers to open up discussions on mental health. ‘In terms of talking about mental health, in terms of campaigning and changing minds, storytelling is really important,’ insists Eaton-Lewis. ‘It feels like the people with the most compelling stories are the people who are trying to make us fear and distrust each other. We need to come up with better stories than them.’
The Dust of Everyday Life, CCA, Glasgow, Thu 20 Apr.
LEITHLATE It’s Leith’s turn to take the spotlight again, as the much- loved LeithLate (pictured) returns for another year. Expect artists, musicians, poets and i lmmakers galore. Various venues, Leith, Edinburgh, Thu 15–Sun 18 Jun. EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL World premieres, old favourites and stars on the red carpet: EIFF has got it all. This year, fans of vehicular animation are in for a treat, as Cars 3 makes its UK debut. Various venues, Edinburgh, Wed 21 Jun–Sun 2 Jul.
REBUSFEST Ian Rankin’s i ctional detective, John Rebus, gets a whole festival dedicated in his honour, with everything from whisky tasting sessions to i lm screenings. Various venues, Edinburgh, Fri 30 Jun–Sun 2 Jul.
TRNSMT FESTIVAL With no T in the Park in 2017, this is the big one. Headlining the Glasgow Green festival are Radiohead (Fri), Kasabian (Sat) and Biffy Clyro (Sun). Glasgow Green, Fri 7–Sun 9 Jul. FRINGE VENUES BROCHURE Coming up in our next issue (out Thu 1 Jun) is a bumper glossy brochure featuring all the shows at four of the big-hitting Edinburgh Fringe venues: Assembly, Gilded Balloon, Pleasance and Underbelly. The full Fringe programme is released on Wed 7 Jun.