SMHAF Programme 2026 now launched
Now in its 20th year, the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival has launched its 2026 programme. Packed with over 180 incredible events, this milestone edition will celebrate the passion, commitment and creativity of artists and communities who will be lighting up grassroots spaces and cultural venues across Scotland this October and November.
For 20 years, the festival has championed the voices of people with lived experience, challenged stigma, shaped conversations, inspired movements and celebrated creativity in all its forms. This year’s theme, Reflections, invites artists, communities and audiences alike to pause, take stock and explore how our experiences, stories and creativity shape our mental health, individually and collectively.
With film, theatre, music, visual arts, writing, workshops and lots more, there’s something for all audiences. Discover the full programme and book tickets at www.mhfestival.com.
To view the full digital brochure go to the following link
MHF_SMHAF26_Brochure_A5_DIGITAL_SINGLES.pdf
Lanarkshire Choir Collective Unites Leading Local Choirs for Landmark Mental Health Arts Project
Some of Lanarkshire’s leading choirs are joining forces for an inspiring new initiative that will celebrate the power of music to support mental health, wellbeing and community connection.
The Lanarkshire Choir Collective, supported by Lanarkshire’s Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival, Go Radio and Foundry Creative Alchemy, will bring together hundreds of singers from across Lanarkshire.
The project is being led by Tommy Chambers, Musical Director of SoundSational Community Choir and forms part of the 2026 Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival. The choir collective will use the power of choral music to promote understanding, compassion and hope.
As part of the project, singers from towns, villages and rural communities across Lanarkshire will come together to record a powerful performance of Sanctuary by Jason Robert Brown, an uplifting work centred on safety, belonging and human connection during life’s most challenging moments. The performance will be professionally recorded and filmed, creating a lasting artistic legacy for Lanarkshire’s choral community.
The collaboration will culminate in a special concert at Hamilton Town House on Thursday 29 October 2026, where each choir will perform its own repertoire while also joining together for the massed choir performance of Sanctuary, reflecting the festival’s shared message of mental health and community.
Participating Choirs
- Arietta Choir
- Cantabile
- The Farmers Choir
- The Grace Notes Choir
- KC Community Choir
- Motherwell Diocesan Choir
- SoundSational Community Choir
- South Lanarkshire Schools Choir
For tickets go to
THE OTHER SIDE
Film, Screening: Commonplace Pictures
presents a brand new short film by award
winning playwright and filmmaker Glen
Dickson, commissioned by NHS Lanarkshire.
When the weight gets too heavy, do you keep
showing up or do you slip away quietly for
good? A tender, unflinching piece that finds
light in those places we’re taught not to look.
2.00pm–3.00pm
Strathaven Town Mill Theatre,
Stonehouse Rd, Strathaven, ML10 6FF
Wheelchair Accessible
FREE
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