yay.ie

Your portait could help an excellent charity and assist in putting an end to the stigma surrounding mental health issues. All you have to do is pose for a photograph to be included in an exhibition for the First Fortnight Festival 2012. 10 minutes of your time is all that’s needed and will help See Change as well as the Festival.

I met Sinead McDonald recently and she took my photograph. I am familiar with the First Fortnight festival, having helped them online last year and was delighted to be one of the participants in this exhibtition for the Festival.

First Fortnight is an arts-based mental health awareness project that happens in the first two weeks of every year. Fresh from the success of a hugely successful event with Amnesty International Ireland in January 2011, First Fortnight and See Change need your help to make the project bigger, better and nationwide in the first two weeks of 2012.

I’m quite chuffed (as was Paddy) on how the photos came out.

As Sinéad says herself

First Fortnight is an arts-based mental health awareness project who, along with See Change, are organising a 2 week festival of music and visual arts with a focus on ending the stigma surrounding mental health issues.

The aim is to get people talking about the things that concern themselves and the people they love. I’m very excited to be involved this year, but I need your help!

I’m producing a series of portraits (it’s what I love doing most), which will be exhibited for the duration of the festival; the first two weeks in January 2012.

I’m looking for people who’ve been affected by mental health issues in any way, both directly and indirectly (and lets face it – there are very few of us who haven’t been…) to sit for me for an informal portrait.

The project will also incorporate short text pieces in the style of the #whatstigma hashtag that’s been used on Twitter with such great success.

I want to produce a wall of images and text, for really strong visual impact and to act as a starting point for conversation, so I need as many people as possible!

So if you’ve been affected personally, or someone in your family, or a friend, please email me as soon as you can, so I can take your picture  Sitting takes 10 minutes, and I’ll gladly give a digital copy of all your images as a thank you for being involved, to use as you like.

Your small text piece (a few sentences) can be as personal or as general as you wish, and the project is open to anyone who feels strongly about the issue of stigma and mental health, whether you’ve been affected or not. If you’d like to sit, or learn more about the project or the festival in general, then please email hello@sineadmcdonald.com.

I’ll admit that despite my hesitance about posing, working with Sinead was very easy, even though it was just after 24theWeb and I was wrecked. She’s very professional and friendly and makes a damn fine cup of tea. Please do give her a shout. All details here.