Submissions are now open for four artist commissions on the theme ‘Comfort & Disturb’ for this year’s Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival.

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The Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival (SMHAF) is seeking proposals for four small artist commissions to present during this year’s festival dates, from Mon 20 October to Sun 9 November. These commissions are open to artists based anywhere in Scotland and working in any discipline – music, film, visual art, performance etc.

Works submitted must address mental health and respond in a creative way to this year’s theme of ‘Comfort & Disturb’, taken from the Cesar A Cruz quote “art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable”. Artists are encouraged to interpret the theme in any way that they choose but artists will be expected to consider safeguarding for themselves, audiences, and anyone else involved in the creative process.

While the SMHAF artist commissions were originally designed to generate new work that can be presented online, they are also open to proposals that can be shared as part of a multi-arts event.

The fee for each commission is £1,000 inclusive of materials. Submissions close at 6pm, Fri 9 May.

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How to submit:

• All proposals must be submitted using the online submission form.
• Artists must provide a short proposal no more than two paragraphs in writing (or equivalent in audio or video), explaining what you would like to make, why you want to make it, and how it relates to mental health and the theme.
• Artists must also include full contact details, an estimated submission date, and a short description of yourself and your work with examples.
• Any questions about the commissions can be emailed to smhaf@mentalhealth.org.uk.

Further announcements on the programme and other ways to get involved with the festival are due in the coming months, so keep an eye on the SMHAF socials for details!

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The Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival (SMHAF) is one of Scotland’s most diverse cultural events, covering everything from music, film and visual art to theatre, dance, and literature. The festival aims to support the arts, explore how engagement in the arts can help prevent mental ill health, and challenge mental health stigma. Led by the Mental Health Foundation, SMHAF combines artistic quality with strong grassroots support, community engagement and social activism.