“Mad Hearts” is a two-day conference at Queen Mary University London which explores productive, radical, contemporary encounters between the arts and mental health, bringing together clinical, artistic and research perspectives that offer a reinterpretation of contemporary mental health science and practice.
17-18 May 2019
QMUL Mile End Campus, ArtsTwo
£50 – 2 days / £30 – 1 day
£30 – 2 days concessions / £20 – 1 day concessions
Thematic sessions will range from the importance of narrative and meaning-making in mental health to the pedagogical use of the arts as progressive intervention, and arguments for a radical shift in mental health practice. The programme is enriched by theatre performances on the theme of mental health and an art exhibition. Delegates will have the opportunity to contribute their responses through a ‘long table’ discussion; this will provide the stimulus for the panel discussion with stakeholders and international experts that will round off the conference. We welcome mental health professionals, researchers and any members of the general public interested in the way the arts can contribute to mental health.
Book online: here
Friday 17 May 2019
09.00 – 09.45 Registration and coffee
09.45 – 10.00 Introductions
10.00 – 11.00 In search of meaning: narratives in mental health
Dr David Harper, Reader in Clinical Psychology
Jeremy Weller, Artistic Director of Grassmarket Project theatre company
11.00 – 11.30 Refreshments, art exhibition and poster display
11.30- 12.45 Lucy Hutson, Performance Artist and Panel discussion
12.45 – 13.45 Break for lunch, art exhibition and poster display
13.45 – 14.45 People’s Palace Projects: Building the Barricades
Paul Heritage, Marcelo Cruz, Eliana Sousa Silva, Maíra Gabriel Anhorn
14.45 – 15.45 London Chamber Orchestra and Music Junction
With mini-concert by staff and children at Music Junction
15.45 – 16.15 Refreshments, art exhibition and poster display
16.15 – 17.30 Parallel sessions:
Theatre performances by BA and MSc students
Long table discussions with audience participation
Saturday 18 May 2019
09.30 – 10.00 Registration and coffee
10.00 – 11.00 Art as a pedagogy for mental health and wellbeing
Prof Bridget Escolme, Professor of Theatre and Performance
Dr Louise Younie, Clinical Senior Lecturer with a panel discussion
11.00 – 11.30 Refreshments, art exhibition and poster display
12.30- 13.00 Ridiculusmus Theatre Company and a mini-performance from The
eradication of schizophrenia in Western Lapland **
13.00 – 14.00 Break for lunch, art exhibition and poster display
14.00 – 15.00 Keynote: Try a Little Tenderness: Artistic Thinking, Clinical Practice
Dr Anna Harpin, Associate Professor of Theatre
15.00 – 15.30 Refreshments, art exhibition and poster display
15.30 – 17.00 General Panel
17.00 – 17.30 Prize ceremony
Jeremy Weller 
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