First Fortnight is a charity that challenges mental health prejudice through arts and cultural action. It aims to make the first fortnight of each year synonymous with mental health awareness, challenging prejudice and ending stigma.
On 17th January 2019, Creative Spark, in association with Inspire Wellbeing, hosted their third annual First Fortnight event, Inside Out – Again, challenging mental health prejudice through arts and cultural action. The free event provided an opportunity to bring the artist inside out, inviting everyone to bring their art and creativity out of the home or studio and into the community.
Among the 30 or so contributions by poets, singers, performers, a nutritionist and various others were again several provided by AAEX members:
- Sew Happy: a perpetual participatory stitching project (Úna Curley)
- Flower painting with textile designer Caroline Duffy
- Participatory mono printing workshop (Bernhard Gaul)
- Nonsensical Board Game – a game that challenges you to come up with the rules (Susan Farrelly)
- Voice performance (Ali Warner)
- Meet the artist presentation: Photography and Cyanotype (Samantha Brown)
- Meet the artist presentation: Art Therapy (Jenny Slater)
AAEX (Art As Exchange) 