Why don’t Black and people of colour talk about mental health?
In this conversation hosted by We Are Here Scotland founder Ica Headlam, a panel of Black and people of colour creatives discuss why mental health isn’t talked about more within their communities and why creativity has helped them express their feelings more. The panel will also be joined by a professional person of colour working in the mental health field who will also offer their insights on this subject.
This event is part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival's Mental Health Arts Network project, supported by the Baring Foundation.
About the Panellists
Ica Headlam has independently produced and hosted the Creative Me Podcast since 2017, a weekly show that explores creativity and arts in the North East of Scotland, with the aim of drawing a wider focus on Aberdeen’s creative community. To date, it has been commissioned for the Look Again Festival, Northlands Creative, and City Moves festival dance live. Ica is founder of We Are Here Scotland and also a qualified social worker who works with vulnerable young adults across Aberdeen.
Gin Lalli is a solution focused psychotherapist based in Edinburgh. Gin helps people to regain control of their lives by explaining the science behind how the brain functions and by employing the latest evidence-based techniques of positive psychology and neuroscience. Most importantly she is an advocate of solution focused work; a form of psychotherapy that does not require deep analysis of past problems and issues, but focuses on moving forward with mental fitness. Gin is host of the podcast Stress Bucket Solutions and author of the book How to Empty Your Stress Bucket.
Esraa Husain (they/she/he) is a PhD researcher, freelance writer, facilitator and community curator based in Scotland. They run U Belong Glasgow.
Samah Naseem is Pakistani British. She has worked in the Violence Against Women sector for almost 3 years now and previously worked in mental health. She also has a blog Ramblings of a Brown Girl – Medium
Jubemi Iyiku, also known as Bemz, is a Nigerian-born Ayrshire artist who has broken into the forefront of Scotland's rap scene over the last few years. He has played sold out shows, started a merchandise brand called M4 and most recently became the inaugural winner of the BBC Introducing’s Scottish Artist of the Year Award and also has been awarded a Power Up funding grant by the PRS Foundation based on his excelling career. Jubemi is Community Engagement Officer for We Are Here Scotland.