MONDAY, JANUARY 16 is now known as “Blue Monday.” Considered the most depressing day of the year, it’s thought that people are at their lowest in the post-Christmas haze. Coupled with that, the dreary weather and darker afternoons factor into a collective downcast feeling.
However, these feelings are not exclusively experienced during the month of January. For 12 years, First Fortnight has aimed to simultaneously help people struggling with their mental health and end the stigma surrounding it. Each year, during the first 2 weeks of the new year, First Fortnight hosts an incredible variety of events – music, theatre, poetry and visual arts – specially curated to begin conversations and build communities through the arts.
First Fortnight 2023 launched on January 6 with A Celebration of Hope on Nollaig na mBan, headlined by singer Erica Coady. As well as opening the festival, it heralded the theme of this year’s festival; Hope.
Maria Fleming, CEO at First Fortnight, told Journal.ie about the inspiration behind the theme. “For 2023 we wanted to focus on the positive. We’re aware of all the difficulties there are for those experiencing mental ill health and we know how hard it can be for their families and friends. We’re not ignoring these difficulties and we acknowledge that. However, we wanted to make space to focus on the positive and to celebrate positive changes and advances.”
Fleming continues, “We believe there’s always hope. In programming 2023, we looked to tell stories of recovery; to offer the hope of recovery. We’re sharing stories of positive change in relation to stigma and fear around issues of mental health. Through film, music, theatre and visual art we are exploring hope and offering stories of hope to audiences and importantly offering hope to ourselves. First Fortnight is hopeful that change is happening and that stigma is reducing. We are hopeful for a compassionate understanding within society that leads to more positive outcomes for those experiencing mental ill health.”
The breadth of the events included in First Fortnight’s 2023 programme is truly astonishing. There’s everything from the return of the Therapy Sessions hosted by poet Stephen James Smith, there’s the online event A Hopeful Poetry which has been created alongside the National Library of Ireland. Amongst Fleming’s festival must-sees, she’s chosen one of the many theatre highlights, Oops This Is Toxic.
Another of Fleming’s highlights from this year’s festival is a specially commissioned piece of visual art by the textile design duo, Electronic Sheep. “We commissioned a tapestry by visual artists Helen Delany and Brenda Aherne (the duo behind the Electronic Sheep knitwear label). They have created a new artwork Notifications Off which aims to open up a conversation around mental health. The work weaves in a range of people including artists and cultural figures who have kindly contributed to its creation such as Gavin Friday, Róisín Murphy, Aisling Bea, Ben, Tomoka and Bamboo Westwood, Vince Power, Dylan Philips and Laura Whitmore. It launched at The Project Arts Centre and is available to view across the Festival until January 14th.”
The Covid-19 pandemic brought challenges to several aspects of our lives. In particular, the live events industry – and subsequently, First Fortnight – were forced to find new ways to reach audiences throughout the lockdown periods. Going online was a solution many came to. Once the logistics of hosting events online were figured out, it turned out to be a success. Despite the return of live events, Fleming explains how First Fortnight adjusted to this new model over the last few years and why the festival has kept this virtual element.
“The festival ran completely online in January 2021 and there was an amazing response from the audience. We received comments from those in isolated regional locations and those with young families about how being online allowed them to attend events for the first time. In 2022, we planned a hybrid festival with some events online and many ‘in person’. As it happens the restrictions changed a week or so ahead of our festival and capacities in venues were reduced again to 50%, which we had anticipated. However, a curfew was imposed; with venues and hospitality required to close by 8pm and sadly this impacted a number of events and the result was a postponement, but others pivoted to go online.”
“Responses from audiences were again positive in 2022 and we were delighted to connect with people in whatever way we could. We decided in 2023 to keep some events online to facilitate audiences who still could not join in person and also allow for any changes in the delivery of live events.” She continues, “We believe the 2023 programme delivers the best of both worlds, with opportunities for audiences to gather and celebrate in person and also a digital space for those who want to stay connected but cannot physically join.”
Whether in-person or online, there are countless opportunities to part-take in the inclusivity and connectivity First Fortnight facilitates every year. The metaphorical glue binding the artists and audience together is a shared appreciation for the arts. There has always been a strong connection between the arts – especially music – and mental health. Often, artists use their medium to unselfconsciously express themselves and share personal experiences. From an audience perspective, these pieces of work, be it a song or short story, can help to provide an understanding to articulate similar feelings in others.
On the correspondence between the arts and mental health, Fleming says: “As someone who has worked in the arts for over 25 years, I’m passionate about the healing power of the arts. A recent study by the University of London found that the audience heart beats synchronise while watching theatre. The heartbeat rises and falls in tune with the action on the stage. Individual rhythms return during the interval and then the heart beats synchronise again when audiences return for the second act. We are social beings and we seek connection and being part of an audience gives us connection, even when we have attended an event alone, once we join that audience we gain connection.”
She continues, “We are known in Ireland as great storytellers and our artists tell stories through music, literature, film, music and poetry. There’s a power in representation and when artists share a story where we recognise ourselves or a family member or friend we experience validation and again connection that can help us to feel seen and heard and offer hope. First Fortnight is privileged to have the support of so many brilliant artists. The vision, creativity and generosity of the artists we work with are invaluable. We are very grateful to the artists who share these stories with us.”
First Fortnight 2023 comes to a close this Sunday, January 15, Fleming considers how, in Ireland, mental health support has evolved in recent years. “The conversation is moving on but we know barriers still remain. We have all seen the shift in the conversation around mental health as a result of the pandemic. Covid-19 literally brought home the reality of mental health struggles for many people. We now hear more conversations about mental health on the radio, we see more portrayals of mental health on TV and in film. Schools and workplaces are taking responsibility to provide support and/or information for people regarding mental ill health. However, there’s still work to be done. While many people are more comfortable now discussing anxiety or social anxiety, we do still see the stigma around more acute mental illness such as psychosis or eating disorders, for example.”
Fleming concludes, “We know that people experiencing mental ill health still believe there’s discrimination in relation to employment or housing, which encourages them to mask or hide their illness. First Fortnight’s vision is to end the stigma around mental health. In a society where stigma has ended, people can speak freely and openly about their mental health or mental ill health.”
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