Insider // Outsider : PsychArt x Mad Hearts 2024

Hospitals represent places of boundaries over which people are turned into rigid roles, nurses and doctors on the one side, and patients on the other. They can be experienced as cold, inflexible or containing and nurturing - and all of those things.

We invite you to a space to explore the possibilities of care. Where boundaries are softened and understanding is fostered through presentations, discussions and creative workshops.

Come to consider, re-frame and discuss - whatever this opposition might mean, and wherever we choose to place ourselves: outsiders, insiders, both & in between.

Note: you do not have to be an academic, clinician or student to join us! (but you can be). Anyone with an interest in arts and mental health is welcome to come along. Please let us know about any access requirements.

All Events at Arts One, QMUL Mile End Campus

The Possibility of Colour | tree fish productions

The Possibility of Colour is an exciting new play written by Pete Carruthers, with input at every stage from mental health professionals, academics, student practitioners, and people with lived experience of the themes explored in the piece.

The play explores themes around mental health, voice hearing, synaesthesia, neurodiversity,

forced treatment, the use of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare and much much more.

Keynote talk:

"to make an army out of madness - wtf is balmy army anyway?"

James Leadbitter aka the vacuum cleaner is a UK based artist and activist whose work addresses challenging and taboo issues in mental health. Their work has been exhibited throughout the UK, including commissions from Wellcome Collection, Tate Modern and the Liverpool Biennial as well as for BBC4, Channel 4 and Arte. They regularly present work internationally both on the streets and in art spaces; recent international commissions include Festespiele/Gessnerallee (Zurich) and Vooruit/Dr. Guislain Museum (Ghent).

Further speakers tbc

Workshop Highlights:

(click on the google docs link for an outline)

Playing ON Theatre Company: playing on workshops - Google Docs

ALICE NORFIELD - Mumifying objects workshop

Tam Martin Fowles - Hope in the Heart CIC - Home

Ali Blatcher - Poetry workshop: alibpoetry workshop - Google Docs

Cara Verkirk - Collage workshop

More detailed programme and how to select workshops to follow in early April

Workshops will run before and after lunch with each attendee participating in one of 4 workshops or attending a talk running in parallel in the morning and afternoon

At the end of the day we will have a panel discussion exploring our theme of how crossing the boundary of the hospital impacts us to adopt various roles as Insiders & Outsiders to ourselves and others

Lunch from Cafe Van Gogh famous for cooking delicious, plant-based dishes using seasonal ingredients

More details to follow soon.

We would like to thank East London Foundation Trust (ELFT)and at Queen Mary: The Centre for Arts, Culture and Creative Collaboration, the Wolfson Institute and the School of English and Drama for their sponsorship and support

If you want to attend the event and are unable to afford a ticket please get in contact with us via our email to discuss.

Email contact: [email protected]

Join the vanguard at the crossroads of mental health and creativity with our annual PsychArt Competition. This year's theme, "Healing Outside the Box," calls for artworks that envision the future of mental wellness, spotlighting unconventional treatments and emerging therapies. We invite doctors, patients, and health professionals alike to contribute pieces—from paintings to sculptures, photographs to mixed media—that redefine the healing journey.

Unleash your creativity and share your story of innovative healing. Be part of a community that's reimagining the landscape of mental health through the power of art. Your piece could be the next beacon of hope and progress.

Although we don't want to limit people's vision for their work, size and feasibility of exhibiting must be considered. Please contact us if unsure and we will do our best to cater for every submission.

Email [email protected] to discuss the space you might require

See PsychART - Home Page for previous entries / winners

Host or Publisher PsychArt x Madhearts