City Lit recently wrapped up an amazing week celebrating the Mental Wealth Festival's ten-year anniversary. And what a week it was!
We were thrilled to welcome back familiar faces who have supported us throughout the last decade. It was also fantastic to see a range of inspiring new contributors join us for the occasion.
The Festival built on the great idea offered by Beyond Words Founder Baroness Sheila Hollins a decade ago. Back then, she said that mental health, like wealth, can change throughout your life. Sometimes it is poor or in deficit and other times it is abundance. This sentiment remains as important as ever. The events shared inspiring ideas, encouraged the use of creative outlets and supported attendees in restoring and supporting their mental health.
Festival in Numbers...
- 40 Workshops
- 10 talks
- 5 Panel discussions
- 8 Performances
- 1 Exhibition
- 16 Partners
- 3 Locations
Festival Highlights
The range of events and variety of subjects made the festival so captivating. With so many incredible speakers and activities, it’s difficult to put together a list of highlights, but we’ve given it a go!
If you missed this year's Festival, you don't need to wait until next year. City Lit offers a range of Health and Wellbeing courses year-round that we encourage you to sign up for.
Thursday - World Mental Health Day and 'An Evening with Sir Grayson Perry
We kicked off the Festival with our 'Business Breakfast' event - 'When the World Intervenes'. This panel discussion looked at how businesses and leaders cope with events they have no direct control over. Panellists included City Lit Fellow The Rt Hon Sir Vince Cable, former Secretary of State for Business and Trade and Dr Paula Franklin, former Chief Medical Officer of Bupa amongst others.
The rest of the day saw a wide selection of talks and workshops. Business coach Rachel Morris shared coaching strategies for working people becoming parents. Dr Olivia Hum and Dr Zoe Schaedel from Myla Health also joined us. They took us through how to thrive in the menopause in what was a very topical and engaging session.
We finished off World Mental Health Day with our headliner Sir Grayson Perry. He shared his insights exploring the intersection between art, creativity and mental health. The renowned artist and City Lit Fellow emphasised how caring for your mental health does not limit your creative expression. He shared the useful analogy, “If you clear out the tool shed, you still get to keep the tools.”
Friday - Talks, Panels and Performances
It was all things talks, panel discussions and performances on the second day of this year's Festival.
Best-selling author Dr Kathryn Mannix, and Mental Wealth Festival co-founder Baroness Sheila Hollins joined City Lit Principal Mark Malcomson, for the first panel discussion of the day. They stressed the benefits of open communication around dying and why it isn’t spoken about enough. The audience left thinking on how embracing the concept of death can give a sense of purpose in life.
The topic of mental health in later life was also explored, led by Paul Farmer, CEO of AgeUK. Joining him was popular neuroscientist Dr Tara Swart and Dr Carole Easton, the CEO of the Centre for Aging Better. The panel discussed the interplay of health, wealth and wellbeing and how they change as we age.
Dr Tara Swart, author of The Source, joined us again in the John Lyon's Theatre in the afternoon. In a one-on-one discussion with Mark Malcomson, she talked about her impressive life and career so far. Building on the ideas in her book, she emphasised the importance of maintaining physical health and gave meaningful lifestyle advice to enrich the mind and manage challenging circumstances.
In a more personal discussion, Lindsay Nicholson, former editor of Good Housekeeping, reflected on defining moments in her life and career. In sharing parts of her memoir Perfect Bound, she gave an introspective analysis of romantic and platonic relationships, of managing grief, her relationship with success, and where she found her greatest happiness.
As well as talks and panels, cultural and creative workshops explored methods of supporting mental wealth. The 'Ikigai' workshop looked at the Japanese concept of focusing on purpose and pursuing a fulfilled life. Creative workshops such as a Haiku writing workshop embraced the positive impact of creative activities on mental wealth.
Saturday - Culture and Community
Saturday saw a large range of drop-in activities in the café and student centre for our ‘Culture and Community Day’. For the second year running, the ‘Human Library’ joined us. This allows attendees to ask people with specific life experiences questions on their individual stories, with the goal of building empathy and ‘unjudging someone’.
Similarly, the ‘Complimentary Kindness’ booth fostered a sense of unity. Attendees shared complimentary gifts of kindness to make other people’s day and emphasise the power of gratitude.
The day embraced a sense of powerful and open expression. Matt Ottley joined us from across continents to display a film screening of his intermodal project, The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness. This told one boy’s journey to mental illness by weaving together the worlds of art, music and literature.
The Beyond Words: Afternoon Bookclub further celebrated creative expression. The series of book clubs explored Beyond Words’ word-free picture books, developing visual literacy and offering an engaging space to share ideas. They rounded off the Festival with the announcement of their art and colouring competitions.
Look after your Health and Wellbeing at City Lit
Although the Festival is only once a year, our Health and Wellbing classes run every day. Take a look at the full range by clicking the button below.
