The First Fortnight festival is proud to announce the line-up for its 2013 programme of mental health-themed arts and cultural events, taking place during the first two weeks of 2013 and centered around Dublin’s cultural hub of Temple Bar.
Following the success of the inaugural First Fortnight festival last January, First Fortnight 2013 is again using live music, spoken-word, theatre, film and visual art to create open discussion and understanding of mental health problems and challenge stigma.
First Fortnight is also proud to announce the launch of the First Fortnight Centre for Creative Therapies, a health facility that aims to help homeless adults with mental health problems through art therapy.
The 2013 First Fortnight festival is partnered by Amnesty International Ireland, Mental Health Reform and See Change, the National Mental Health Stigma Reduction Partnership.
Amongst some of the artists taking part include contemporary British artist Stuart Semple, Irish Acts Le Galaxie, We Cut Corners, Róisín O, Kopek, actress Mary McEvoy and acclaimed theatre productions Silent, Solpadeine Is My Boyfriend & Box of Frogs. The full line-up can be viewed at www.FirstFortnight.ie
Launching the official festival programme, Dublin City Arts Officer Ray Yeates said: “First Fortnight brings to the fore the healing power of creativity and cultural practice. Mental health difficulty is part of life and the Arts, as it does with many other issues, can express all of the complexity involved.”
First Fortnight co-founder and project manager JP Swaine added of the line-up: “We hope people are as thrilled about this year’s line-up of events as we are. We were over-whelmed by the response we received to last January’s festival and believe that the festival helped trigger conversations about mental health problems that might not otherwise have occurred.
“Again, we hope that people come to this year’s events to be entertained, but also to hopefully go into the year ahead touched by a really strong message about reducing the stigma that surrounds mental health.
“We are particularly excited by the launch of the First Fortnight Centre for Creative Therapies and the growth of the organisation from an arts-based event to a fully-fledged facility helping vulnerable members of our society cope with mental health problems.”
Amongst the highlights of this year’s festival will be:
Fishamble's acclaimed production of Pat Kinevane's award-winning play Silent, a touching and challenging story of a homeless man, who has lost it all – including his mind; Live sets by LeGalaxie, We Cut Corners, Kopek, Verse Chorus Verse, Vann, Róisín O, This Club, dREA, Dylan Tighe, The Man Whom and Chris Campbell; `Please Can You Make Some Noise For...Mental Health' - a panel discussion featuring British contemporary artist Stuart Semple and other high-profile speakers all with personal experience in relation to mental health; Acclaimed film Tarnation - US filmmaker Jonathan Caouette's award-winning documentary on growing up with a mother with schizophrenia; Solpadeine is My Boyfriend, the acclaimed one-woman play from stefanie Pressner and one of the standout hits of the 2012 Dublin Fringe Festival; Exhibitions from visual artists Glen Neath, Sinead McDonald and Melissa Lavender
