THE Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival (SMHAF) is to return for its 15th year in May, exploring the theme of normality.

The event is a wide-ranging programme of online and outdoor events by people all over Scotland – from Dumfries and Galloway to the Highlands. A whole year of lockdown has turned the world upside down, forcing us to re-evaluate what we think of as “normal” life and behaviour.

The festival will explore related issues, such as should things go back to normal afterwards? Was the way we lived before normal or was it damaging to our mental health? And if life does go back to normal, who is likely to be excluded from that?

Studies suggests that Covid-19, and the resultant global lockdown, has led to a crisis in mental health as well as physical health. It is likely that we will be witnessing and processing the mental health impact for years to come.

This is due to the sheer number of difficult situations people have been put through since the beginning of 2020 – the loss of loved ones, prolonged isolation, financial difficulties or having their whole life plans suddenly disrupted in various other ways.

SMHAF is one of Scotland’s biggest, most diverse festivals. Its unique approach – programmed from the grassroots up by a team of regional co-ordinators all across the country, in combination with a film and performance programme curated by the Mental Health Foundation – ensures it connects with audiences that other arts festivals often struggle to reach.

Gail Aldam, arts and events manager for the Mental Health Foundation, said: “We want to challenge the value judgements often associated with the words ‘normal’ and ‘normality’. We’re really looking forward to finding out how artists and event organisers all across Scotland respond to this theme.”