PERFORMANCE . VISUAL ART . RESEARCH . THEATRE . COMEDY . POETRY . MUSIC . FILM
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NI MENTAL HEALTH ARTS FESTIVAL
2026
Northern Irelands longest running mental health arts festival. Join us in May 2026 for our 13th year celebrating the arts and breaking the stigma surrounding mental health. ​
GET INVOLVED NIMHAF 2026!
NIMHAF welcomes you to get involved with our 2026 festival. The festival will take place between the 8th - 15th May 2026, our theme this year is Belonging. We welcome submissions from everyone, across artforms, academia, and community events.
If you are interested in applying to be a part of this year's festival please read the key information below before submitting an expression of interest form. Once we have received your form we will be in contact regarding your inclusion in the programme. A PDF document of these guidelines is available here.
KEY INFO:
Festival Dates: 8th - 15th May 2026
Theme: Belonging
Submission Deadline: Friday 14th November 2025, 12.00pm
THEME:
Belonging a feeling or sense of being accepted, valued, connected to people or place. A fundamental human need. You are welcomed as your true self in a group, community, or environment. It is a sense of holding an integral place in a system, family, school, work, community or a physical setting. True belonging is not having to hide aspects of your identity or conform to expectations to fit in. It is vital to feel connected to others, this gives life purpose and meaning.
SUBMISSION INFO:
The NI Mental Health Arts Festival is dedicated to platforming those who have lived experiences of mental health challenges. We strongly encourage submissions with this background to apply, however our submissions are open for all.
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Who Can Apply:
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Open to everyone aged 18+
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Strong encouragement for individuals with lived experience of mental health challenges
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All artforms welcome: visual arts, theatre, performance, music, comedy, digital arts, literary and more. We are open to creative responses which use art in creating conversations about mental health.
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Those living in Northern Ireland.
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Proposals must highlight both arts and mental health
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
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Submitted a completed Expression of Interest form
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Include: title, date, location, event description, budget, and a short CV (max 2 pages)
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Events must take place during the festival dates (8th - 15th May 2026)
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If your are requesting financial support we can offer a budget of £300 (covers fees, materials, transport, venue/equipment hire), you must submit a budget outline.
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Event must be free of charge if we are providing financial support.
SUPPORT PROVIDED:
​NIMHAF are able to offer support for you and your event/project, this includes:
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Marketing support via local and national campaigns
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Help with venue sourcing if needed
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Connections to wider audiences, artists, and organisations
PLEASE NOTE:
All projects submitted will be treated equally, unfortunately we are not able to financially support all submissions.
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Applications must be submitted by Friday 14th November 2025, 12.00pm.
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If you have any queries relating to your application please contact info@nimhaf.org, we are currently a small team and will reply as soon as we can.