We had the pleasure of being a partner of SHOUT Celebration a couple of weeks ago, for the London leg of their mental health and arts festival weekend at Wac Arts. The weekend consisted of artists from all over London exhibiting their work, panels discussing topics such as eating disorders, grief and addictions, feature films such as ‘Black People Don’t Get Depressed’ and ‘The Edge Of Chaos’, Music and Poetry and Comedy. All in the name of celebrating and normalising the conversation on mental health. Our involvement meant that we were able to not only showcase our talented poets but also have two of our ambassadors perform!
Throughout the event we had a poetry wall on display which showcased the incredible talent of 12 poets from 7 different countries, each contributing their unique voice to the important topic of mental health. These powerful poems, all previously published on our site by our content creators, were beautifully stylised into eye-catching graphics. The display offered a space for attendees to reflect on mental well-being and appreciate the diverse perspectives shared through poetry.
On Saturday we had Kitty Churchfield representing us; where she performed her hits like Lonely in Bristol, her vocals were eerie yet upbeat, and the audience much like ourselves was hooked from the first track. Throughout her performance, she read some of her original poetry which touched on her coming-of-age struggles and the complexities of relationship trauma and its aftermath. This added segment invited the audience to look further into the world of Kitty Churchfield. Whilst her art sheds a light on the intensities of mental health and the darkness that comes with it, she had a level of humour throughout her performance which felt very ‘silver linings’, it truly showed her resilience and growth as a person and as an artist. It was incredible to have Kitty Churchfield representing us over the weekend, we cannot recommend you check out her work enough!
On Sunday we had a first-time spoken word performance from our long-term writer and ambassador Lizzy Lindsey! Although it was her first time performing her poetry, her stage presence was completely commanding, you wouldn't have been able to tell, until she shared it with the audience. This is something she did throughout, sharing her thoughts, her feelings and past experiences that led to her taking pen to paper and writing her poems.
Her poem ‘My Eyes Ache as You Scream’ delved into the complexities of navigating a friendship that became strained due to mental health challenges. Although most discussions about friendship focus on all the positive and fun aspects, her poem explored the emotions behind a friendship breaking down, an experience many go through but rarely talk about.
Throughout her performance, Lizzy’s vulnerability is raw and incredibly human, from reading her poems on our website to seeing her perform them live it was an incredible pleasure to witness her growth as a poet and performer. We highly recommend checking Lizzy’s poetry and following her other creative projects!
You find out more about the weekend by checking out The Irish World's review, which even features quotes from our ambassadors! Here are a few words about the importance of SHOUT Celebration for the community from their Creative Director Dominique:
"The community that SHOUT has built and continues to build is so important. Although we span nationwide, from my perspective as a Londoner I personally find SHOUT London to be something the city is really lacking. London is quite unique in how you can be completely surrounded by people from all over the world, yet struggle with feelings of isolation and loneliness due to its fast-paced and impersonal nature even though it's the most densely populated city in the UK. Creating a community through something like SHOUT provides essential emotional support and enhances mental health by reducing isolation and fostering a sense of belonging. It's so important for people to know and feel that they aren't alone"
Being a part of SHOUT was a privilege and we can’t wait to see where the world of art and mental health leads to. Be sure to check out their social channels to keep in the loop for the 2025 events.
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