“Up with arts!”
We are delighted to announce that the NEFELE project, the 1st European Art Festival for Mental Health, launched this weekend over in Athens.

The festival runs from 1-16 October 2016 at the Mpouziani Museum, the premises of the School of Fine Arts and open public places in Athens!
Sixteen days with Art Exhibitions, Film screenings, Theatrical performances, Photo exhibition, Workshops, Music events and Open Discussions, with free admission to all events.

With more than 600 art entries from 23 countries and 68 events by 15 Greek and foreign collaborating institutions, this will be a significant moment for the mental health and arts community and one we are very proud to be a part of.

First Fortnight will be flying the Irish flag high over in Athens by having a special Irish day of events in the festival on  today October 6th. This will include the musician VerseChorusverse, Frank Berry’s film “I Used To Live Here” and Sinead McDonald’s visual art piece “Facing.”

Below are more of the highlights from the festival:
Exhibitions
Gallery of the Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA), Piraeus 256, 1-16.10.2016

Artist Residencies in Mental Health Units. Collective works, a result of co-creation between artists and mental health service recipients. Visual activism for Mental Health. Visual display of contemporary social issues concerning mental health, given through illustrations, social posters, zines, animation and video art.
Mpouziani Museum, Mpouziani 27-31, Dafni, 2-16.10.2016

Solo Exhibition of Chronis Botsoglou. One of the most important Greek painters of modern times presents portraits of Van Gogh,Halepas and Mpouzianis.

Unconscious PlaygroundExhibition. Thirty-six contemporary artists explore the concept of automatismand the “random” as a playground.

Photo exhibition ‘iMADges’. Presentation of the International Photography and Madness Award with artworks from Latin America, Europe and the USA.
Cinema
Athens School of Fine Arts, Piraeus 256, 3-14.10.2016
Films by Greek and foreign directors that explore the human psyche and
mental health issues
Film Workshops on Cinematherapy & Cinequium
Shows & Events in public spaces:
Athens School of Fine Arts and region of Dafni-Ymittos
Escaping from conventional theatrical contexts, like moving away from the
stereotypes of the field of mental health, most of the performing arts’ activities are
hosted in open public spaces.
Music
Athens School of Fine Arts &Mpouziani Museum
Music events which have either indirect psychological content or direct reference to
therapeutic sublimation
Literature
Athens School of Fine Arts
Interactive presentation of texts by recipients of mental health services’ Invited
authors will refer to their texts that address psychopathological cases.
Forum: Speeches, Presentations & Workshops
Athens School of Fine Arts & Mpouziani Museum
Mental Health Organisations organize experiential workshops, present good
practices and organize lectures.
Kid’s corner
Mpouziani Museum
Visual interactive workshops for children