Our eighth Mental Wealth Festival has just drawn to a close and what a week it’s been…
Festival in numbers...
- 39 Taster Workshops
- 9 Panel Discussions
- 1 Summit
- 8 partners (Beyond Words, The National Galley, Royal Opera House, Mad World, Thrive LDN, Bethlem Royal Hospital, Frazzled Café and 64 Million Artists)
- 5 locations (City Lit, National Gallery, Royal Opera House, Dulwich Picture Gallery and Bethlem Royal Hospital)
Festival highlights
There were highlights galore, but we’ve picked a few favourites from each day. And don’t worry – if you missed the festival, you can join us next year or have a look at our upcoming health and wellbeing courses...
Monday at The National Gallery
Launching the festival with two events at the National Gallery on World Mental Health Day was phenomenal. Our first panel discussion, ‘Art at the Intersection - culture, identity and mental health’ saw Sonia Boué, Charmaine Watkiss and Ian Tucknott, hosted by City Lit Principal Mark Malcomson, explore relationships between art, identity, mental health and wellbeing, and ways in which culture, race, gender and sexuality can inform creative work, engage viewers, and confront or challenge inequality and prejudice.
Tuesday at Mad World Summit
The Mad World Summit in Shoreditch saw City Lit Principal Mark Malcomson in conversation with former Premier League footballer Clarke Carlisle about Clarke’s life. It was an incredibly powerful talk about Clarke’s life, career and depression. Clarke has performed at the highest levels of professional football, first as a player and then in governance. Operating at that level, with the profile and exposure it brings, creates huge pressure and Clarke discussed how that pressure affects you on a personal and professional level and the subsequent impact on your mental and physical wellbeing.
Wednesday - Workshops & Panel Discussions at City Lit
We saw Paul Farmer CBE, CEO of Mind, talking about his career and receiving his City Lit Fellowship Award. This was Paul’s last week at Mind before he moves to Age UK to continue his work in the charity sector, and it was fascinating to hear his views on mental health and wellbeing. Paul also received his City Lit Lifetime Fellowship.
Thursday - Workshops & Panel Discussions at City Lit
Baroness Sheila Hollins, CEO of Beyond Words and the mastermind behind the Mental Wealth Festival, led a Book Club panel on The Power of Pictures, which explored visual literacy through a thought-provoking session about the power of pictures and how they can help us relate to our surroundings and tell our own stories.
Friday - Events at City Lit and The Royal Opera House
Our panel discussion around Everyday Creativity looked at creativity and the role of the arts in supporting wellbeing, with panellists from London Arts & Health, The Lived Experience Network, and 64 Million Artists.
Our Ian Tucknott, one of the organisers of this year’s Festival programme, summed the week up perfectly: “The purpose behind the entire Festival has been to encourage guests to explore the time they have and how they use it. You couldn’t help but come away from any of the sessions without a tremendous sense of empowerment and longing to dedicate more time to self-care and wellbeing, whether through learning and self-development, spending time with loved ones or engaging in new activities. I’m already incredibly excited about starting to plan for next year.
“To support the Festival, we’ve launched a campaign centred on some research showing that 95% of people agree learning a new skill positively impacts their mental health, and 52% feel they don’t spend enough time learning new skills. It’s light-hearted in its tone but hopefully brings home the message of the importance of what you spend your time on… did you know you could learn Korean in the time spent watching Squid Game, for example…?”
You can read more about this year’s Mental Wealth Festival and see what you could have learnt in the time spent watching popular series here.
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