The projects will consider how artists might make interventions into different types of environment, in ways that can have a profound and lasting impact on mental health. How might artists from different practices influence, shape and inhabit urban spaces in ways combat social alienation, anxiety and depression? The project provides a unique space for cross-sectoral thinking and reflection, where a range of perspectives from the Greater Manchester and Netherlands can come together and consider the most effective ways to deploy cultural activity for a social benefit.
The lead partner in the UK is SICK! Festival in Manchester. The festival faces up to the complexities of the mental and physical health. It presents an outstanding international arts programme, weaving in perspectives from academic research, clinical practitioners, public health professionals, charities and those with lived experience of the issues they address.
This project is a collaboration with SICK! Festival, Dutch Culture centre for international cooperation and the Cultural Funds in the Netherlands.