Graphic designer and illustrator Joey La Meche is part of a small team organising Mind Aid, an art and mental wellbeing festival in Norwich city centre which starts next Monday. Here, he explains the idea stems from living in New Zealand during the pandemic
What’s the thinking behind Mind Aid Festival Norwich and when was the first one?
Mind Aid is a way to teach the everyday individual vital tools that will help them deal with the stresses and strains of everyday life. This is, of course, a very light way to talk about mental health as a subject as its tendrils can often run very deeply.
As a visual artist and creative, my main way to cope with the noise is to focus on creating artwork and once I achieve that single-pointed focus, the rest of the challenges either become clearer to identify or melt away in their intensity and nature.
Along the way in life, however, I have learned a number of tools that help me identify and find resolutions for my sometimes-troubled mind. For me, these have come from travelling the far east, and are delivered in the form of meditation, yoga and mindfulness practices.
Whilst travelling and living in New Zealand throughout the global pandemic period, I was offered the opportunity to display some of my artworks at an exhibition space in the nation’s capital of Wellington in 2022.
Like most others, having just lived through a time of global change, social isolation and confrontations, my coping techniques were more important than ever.
That’s when it occurred to me – why host my third ever solo art show, directed purely towards my own self-indulgence and ‘look at me’ attitude?
So, I decided to expand the exhibition booking into a group art exhibition, composed of four other creatives I had met on my travels through the country. Two of them were Kiwi’s (New Zealand born natives), one was Chinese and another from Europe.
Together we packed the gallery space full of colourful and creative work that highlights the difficult mental states we have come through and how we had used art as a coping mechanism.
I took it on myself, too, to contact various locals I had made contact with, in order to gather together a handful of workshops that would give members of the public a taste of different tools they could use to help themselves with their own problems.
These activities included Life Drawing, Meditation, Yoga, Binaural Light and Sound therapy, Mindfulness Techniques, Live Music Sessions and even Laughter Yoga – a little known, slightly scary, but incredibly powerful tool.
One of the key charities that we partnered with at the time gave me the sound advice that, when my time was due to return to the UK, I could keep the Mind Aid brand rolling and develop it even further for a completely new community. That community is Norwich City.
Who is on the festival team and what are your backgrounds?
On the team I am working closely with Jeanne Gagniere , who was one of those original artists from Mind Aid 2022 and is in charge of curating a wonderful gallery space with a completely new range of local artists from the Norfolk and Norwich area.
We also have Ross Williams, who has worked with local bicycle and charities and has a keen interest in the food-waste initiatives popping up all around the world. Ross is navigating the course to keep Mind Aid within the boundaries of bureaucratic sensibilities by verifying our documentation and structuring our governance as a community interest group.
Finally, I am behind the marketing and promotional materials alongside the event planning, workshop and activities co-ordination, as well as being the centrifuge that the other two can reach out to when they need help or advice on their own particular role.
How is the festival evolving? What’s new for this year?
This year the festival is already twice as big as it was when it was a simple art exhibition in New Zealand. We’re packing in at least two to three activities a day into the Undercroft Gallery on Norwich Marketplace, including Yoga, Meditation, Mask Making, Mindfulness Coaching, Meditation, Life Drawing, Painting, Live Art installation, A Drum Circle, A Sound Bath Session, Live Music, Somatic Healing and much more!
We even have an actual Buddhist coming down to teach meditation for beginners and everything is accessible completely FREE of charge. You simply have to visit the website mindaidnorwich.com and reserve a space through the Eventbrite portal.
We couldn’t pull this off without the help of all those amazing individuals involved. Every single one of them have kindly donated their time, skills and services to help aid our local community and depart their knowledge and wisdom onto them.
All of this, of course, will take place in and around a static art exhibition with over 10 local artists showcasing their most meaningful and mindful pieces for the public.
We’ve currently recruited Poppy Mathews, Frances Marten, Richard Cleland, Kent on Schweppes, Pinch, Anna Konstantynowicz and many more.
The path of an artist is a tough game and so everything will be on sale. As a way to give back to the artists fully, we’re asking for no commission, so they get to keep 100% of their proceeds.
Where and when will it be held and what can people expect during the week? Do you want to name check anyone?
Mind Aid Festival will take place between Monday 25th and Sunday 31st March. I would love to name check EVERYONE as it’s the least I can do to give back to the kindness of every single individual involved who has made this event possible:
Daniel Thompson (A Human Space), Kelly Brown (Hotpod Yoga Norwich), Jacqui Jones, Melanie Rossiter, Hollieann Thorn (Primal Fitness & Wellbeing), Allison Guy (Drop In & Draw), Yoga With Tracey, Jenny Haycocks (Somatic Health), Create, Paint, Draw with Julia, Abby Hoffman Yoga, Kelsang Gyalpo (Amoghasiddhi Kadampa Buddhist Centre Attleborough).
We’ll also have a Sunday Session on the final day hosted by Kerri Madders of The Black Dog Music Project which features performances from local artists Franko Fraize, Abi Harold, James Holland, Green Isles and Nigel Ashcroft.
Are you on the lookout for more people to get involved?
We’re always on the lookout for more people to get involved, even if it’s to volunteer and help run the space through the week. Workshops have closed for this year, as we’re fully booked, however if you’re a visual artist or film/video artist we are still accepting applications until the 22nd of March. Just get in touch with me or Jeanne through the website contact form. If you want to register your interest for next year, then we’re more than happy to talk about that also.
What are the plans for the festival?
First and foremost, our future vision is to expand the festival into featuring more workshops, activities and artists. We intend to evolve from a community group into a fully-fledged charity and begin applying for bigger funding pools. That way we’ll have enough money in the kitty to ensure that everyone begins to get a little something back for what they put in. If we manage to stabilize that model, then there are many different possibilities to take this thing to the next level. There are many people in need of learning these tools who may not have access to them, either because of financial or social barriers among other things. We will keep flying this flag as long as necessary!
Where can people find out more?
You can find out more detailed information, along with check out the timetable and book your FREE tickets at mindaidnorwich.com
Mind Aid Festival takes place in the Undercroft Gallery, Market Place, Norwich, from March 25 to 31 at The Undercroft Gallery in Norwich. Visit Eventbrite.
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