MINDSCAPES Conference: Day 2

The online conference MINDSCAPES explores the ways in which environments—from our homes to our streets, and our cities to social media—affects our wellbeing and mental health. This two-day conference takes place 22–23 April 2021, and consists of six panel discussions with artists, architects, health practitioners, historians, psychiatrists, urban planners, and writers. Co-organized by SICK! Festival in Manchester and Kunstinstituut Melly in Rotterdam, this conference offers an intersectional approach, grounded in first-hand experiences of issues surrounding access to mental well-being, and the role that has been, or can be, played by the art and health sectors. All events are online, free, and will be BSL Interpreted.

5 – 6 pm (CEST)
Staying In, with a focus on experiences of interiority, and, needless to say, in light of the impact of pandemic lockdowns, with Jackie Hagan, poet, stand-up comedian and playwright; artist Hamja Ashan and author of Shy Radicals; and Rotterdam writer Moosje M. Goosen

6:30 – 7:30 pm (CEST)
The Digital Effect, exploring the impact on mental wellbeing conferred by a sense of connectivity and visibility as much as scrutiny and peer pressure, with Robin van den Akker, Head of Humanities, Erasmus University Rotterdam; Sandeep Ranote, Medical Director of North West Boroughs Healthcare in Manchester; Joe Strickland, artistic director, Chronic Insanity, UK; and Ian Tucker, director of Impact and Innovation in the School of Psychology at University of East London

8 – 9 pm (CEST)
Who Cares?, discussing accessibility strategies provided by, or lacking in, the arts sector, with Alex Coulter, director of Arts & Health Southwest, UK; Pelin Basaran, program manager at Contact in Manchester; Esther Vossen, director of Het Vijfde Seizoen in Amsterdam; and Berlin-based artist Romily Alice Walden