You can submit your artwork for our inside-outsider Art Exhibition on our website now! If you would like to submit a piece of artwork, in either a virtual or physical format please complete the submission form here on our website!
We can’t wait to see the amazing artwork you have created!
What artwork can I submit?
We are asking regulated/accredited/licenced mental health professionals and trainees working towards this who also have lived experience of mental health difficulties to submit artwork on the themes of societal and systemic stigma to challenge the ‘them and us’ divide that exists. The hope is to influence ‘revolutionary change’ societally and systemically and the artwork submitted can also reflect what this meant to you. ‘Revolution’ is the theme of the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2023 which will include the inside-Outsider Art Exhibition. Your artwork might be a conceptual piece based on these themes but might also include artwork that demonstrates your use of making art for self-care.
Your artwork doesn’t have to be limited to visual art forms. We encourage and are open to receiving other creative works such as poetry, photography, creative writing, and any other form of creative art you wish to submit.
Here more about it from us in our video!
Statement of support from the British Association of Art Psychotherapists
"BAAT Scotland is pleased to offer this statement of support for 'Inside Outsider', an exhibition, in association with in2g8mentalhealth, for mental health professionals and trainees who have lived experience of mental health difficulties. Any one of us may experience difficulties with our mental and/or emotional health, and art psychotherapists are no different. As art psychotherapists we cultivate authentic awareness of our whole selves to work with the whole self of the client. This exhibition is a step towards dissolving the shame and stigma which may arise in relation to dual lived experience, reducing the pressure to split off and hide parts of ourselves so that we may live more authentic lives and become more fully present in our work."
Further details of the Inside-Outsider Exhibition
The exhibition is a free public event which will open on Wednesday the 11th of October at Out of The Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny St, Edinburgh, EH6 8RG and simultaneously on our virtual gallery hosted by in2gr8mentalhealth CIC. The on-site exhibition will be open from Thursday 12th October-Thursday 19th October 2023, 10 am-4.30 pm (excluding Sunday 15th October 2023).
Opening night
Wednesday 11th October from 6:00 pm – 8.30 pm with presentations from professionals with lived experience of mental health difficulties from 6:30 pm-7:45 pm. This will be both in-person and live-streamed.
Presenters:
Dr Natalie Kemp – Clinical Psychologist with lived experience of mental health difficulties, CEO and Founder of in2gr8mentalhealth CIC and university clinical tutor.
Many Leonard – Art Psychotherapist, university lecturer and former Lead of the Dual Experience Special Interest Group with the British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT)
Greg Bromley – Social worker, Art Psychotherapist and artist.
Bridget Grant, the chair of BAAT Scotland will also join us to offer a short address reflecting the perspective of the profession about the event.
Tickets for the opening night will be available from InsideOutEdin@gmail.com. We very much hope you would like to join us there.
Why is this event happening?
Mental health professionals can often encounter stigma when they have lived experience of mental health difficulties as care providers. Such stigma can lead to mental health professionals being shamed for historical or current mental health difficulties, which can then be internalised by mental health professionals. This could be seen to add to societal stigma by creating an illusion that some people are immune to experiencing psychological distress.
Synonymous with the ethos of In2gr8mentalhealth CIC, an organisation which values and supports mental health professionals to destigmatise their experience of mental health difficulties, this art exhibition will showcase artwork created by those with this dual identity to challenge stigma societally and systemically. Additionally, we hope to enable mental health professionals who also have lived experience to recognise the value and many benefits their experiential knowledge of mental health difficulties can bring to mental health systems and those around them.
Any further information?
If you would like any further information about the event or would like any further guidance on the artwork you would like to submit please e-mail Don McJimpsey our Arts Coordinator and Project Lead of the Inside-Outsider Arts Exhibition on InsideOutEdin@gmail.com.
Alternatively, if you have any specific questions about in2gr8mentalhealth please visit our website at www.in2gr8mentalhealth.com or e-mail us at contact@in2gr8mentalhealth.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/InsideOutsider7
