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Mental Health First Aid England is committed to telling the stories of people with experience of mental health issues. People’s unique stories bring our courses to life, help to break down stigma and deepen society’s understanding of mental health. Would you be willing to share your own story through artwork to be featured in MHFA courses?
We are looking for art by young people with lived experience of mental health issues. The art can be anything – drawing, painting, photography, digital, sculpture, collage – that illustrates your mental health journey.
We will feature a selection of these artworks in our upcoming courses supporting young people with mental ill health. We may also use some of the art in marketing materials such as leaflets or articles on our website.
Your artwork can depict any mental health issue, as long as it focuses on your mental health journey. We welcome artwork created by the young people our courses are designed to support – from ages 8-18. You can be any age to submit your art, but if you are aged under 18, you will need permission from a parent or guardian first.
If your artwork is selected, we’ll get in touch with you to discuss licensing your image for our courses. If your artwork is selected, you will get a Love2Shop gift voucher to thank you for your contribution, and your artwork will be shown in an exhibition alongside that of other artists whose work has been selected to feature in our resources.
If you’re interested, please complete our submission form including a high-quality image of your artwork. The deadline for submissions is 16th November 2018.
Please share this exciting opportunity with any and all of the young people you know with an interest in art and mental health.
How old do I have to be to submit my art?
We welcome artwork created by the young people our courses are designed to support – from ages 8-18. You can be any age to submit an artwork, as long as the art was created when you were 18 or younger. This is because we want to represent the voices and experiences of young people. If you are aged under 18, you must have permission from your parent or guardian to submit your art.
What does artwork licencing mean? Will I still be able to use my artwork?
If your artwork is selected, you will still be able to use it - you will just be giving us permission to use it too. You will need to sign a release form enabling MHFA England to use your work in our resources, and this form will also need to be signed by a parent or guardian if you are aged under 18. You also won’t be able to licence the artwork to any other organisations while you are in a licencing agreement with MHFA England.
What should my artwork show?
We are looking for art that shows your mental health journey. This can include, but is not limited to, topics such as what good mental health means to you, your experience of mental ill health, or aspects of your recovery. If someone helped you in your recovery journey (i.e. provided you with mental health first aid) we would love to see that.
What does “high quality” mean?
We need the image to be above 100 dpi at A4 size. If you are not sure, submit your artwork to us in the most high-quality way possible and we will let you know if we can use it.
Will you need the original or just the picture?
We just need a high-quality digital image of the artwork. You can keep the original!
How many artworks can I submit?
As many as you like! Please submit one form per artwork.
What mediums are preferred? Photos, paintings, illustrations, sculptures?
We are open to all possibilities and will consider all options!
Can you guarantee my artwork will be selected?
MHFA England cannot guarantee that your artwork will be selected to feature in our resources. We also cannot make any other commitments or guarantees to artists who submit their work.
Will you pay me for my submission?
Your artwork is incredibly valuable because it represents your unique journey. We have strict budgets for artworks and are only able to offer a modest gift of thanks which is not negotiable or exchangeable for cash or any other prize.
We also plan to showcase the work of chosen artists at an exhibition where there will be opportunities to network and explore collaborations with other artists and organisations. We hope that this will encourage the passion of these artists and help to promote their work to a wider audience.
What else do I need to know before submitting an artwork?
The full list of terms and conditions can be found here.
If you have a question that is not listed here, please contact us on productdevelopment@mhfaengland.org.
