Why we do what we do
We believe mental health is our most important human asset. It is what helps us understand and navigate the world around us. This includes our relationships, our work, our community and also our internal world, our thoughts, emotions and feelings. But everyone’s mental health has ups and downs, and it can be very difficult to talk about how we feel or ask for help.
We also believe in the immense power that the arts have in promoting mental health and wellbeing and creating spaces for social connection. We would like to help artists to join the movement to challenge the negative stereotypes that surround mental health, especially focused on young people in India.
We acknowledge the potential that new and innovative technologies and media have to transform mental health discussions and care for young people.
About the Residency
Design for Mental Health is an immersive 3-day arts and new media residency hosting 10 selected artists from India to learn and work intensively together.
The Residency will bring the participants together with experts and practitioners from different media and art forms and use human-centered design methodologies to learn about mental health and new immersive media to build strategies and prototypes aimed at tackling mental health stigma.
This Residency is part of a national mental health project, Mann Mela, by It’s Ok To Talk, Sangath that aims to build awareness about young people’s mental health needs and highlight how different the world can be when we have the support we need to care for our mental health.
Selected works created at the Residency will be supported for further development and production and will travel with Mann Mela to five cities in India.
What the Residency offers
- The opportunity to be part of a community
- An introduction to understanding mental health
- Work alongside leading creators and experts who work with new media and immersive technologies
- The space to tell your own story
- Space to showcase a prototype/art locally and nationally
- Round trip travel and accommodation expenses
Application criteria
We invite artists of all kinds: creators, makers, technologists, writers and others who:
- Endorse our key message that it is important to raise your voice for mental health
- Have personal lived experience or story about mental health (though this is not a prerequisite to apply)
- Are between the ages of 18-30 years and live in India
- Are fluent in Hindi and English or other Indian languages
- Have at least 2 years of education and/or demonstrated work experience in your field of work
Your voice can make a difference. Apply Now!
You can apply by completing this APPLICATION FORM
Applications will be accepted till 5 PM IST on 15th December 2019.
For any questions or assistance, please write to us at info@itsoktotalk.in
About the hosts
This Residency is being hosted by Indian mental health NGO, Sangath in collaboration with human-centered consultancy, Quicksand Design Studio and is supported by the Wellcome Trust.
This Residency is part of Mann Mela, a trans-media public engagement project aimed at raising awareness about adolescent and youth mental health in India. Mann Mela comprises a 5-city roadshow of experiential, fun and interactive experiences at local city events and melas and counterpart online museum to make the project a living and sustainable resource.
Sangath is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation committed to improving health across the lifespan by empowering existing community resources to provide appropriate physical, psychological and social therapies. Its primary focus areas include child development, adolescent and youth health, and adult health and chronic disease. It’s Ok To Talk is a public engagement initiative by Sangath, that engages young people in conversations about their mental health through social media, leadership programs, public events and workshops. The campaign believes that talking about mental health is the first step to breaking the stigma. Our website www.itsoktotalk.in is a safe space for young people to share their experiences with mental health, mental illness and wellbeing.
