This week I was privileged enough to spend an evening drinking champagne and dancing with Rory Bremner whilst in the presence of a camera crew from Calendar News… Well not quite; the majority of that sentence is true but I did in actuality avoid any kind of dancing due to forgetting my ball-gown at home. Rory on the other hand quick-stepped round the Victoria Quarter scooping up any female he could find like a man possessed! My professional diagnosis? Some sort of Strictly Come Dancing induced mania.
If this visualisation still seems somewhat farfetched I should probably put it into context: Wednesday night saw the launch of the SANE Black Dog campaign in Leeds which aims to stimulate conversation about mental illness and its effects on individuals and families. As Patrons of the charity, Rory Bremner and Marjorie Wallace CBE were present to unveil a statue of the canine that has been used to symbolise depression in modern folklore. The dog (‘Homer’) will sit on a plinth in the Victoria Quarter for a week before making its way to the Corn Exchange. He sports a very fetching ‘collar of hope’ and a coat designed specially by artist Duggie Field which will eventually be auctioned off to raise money for SANE. A plaque also displays the contact details of the charity and information on how they support those suffering from depression.
I had a brief chat with Rory before he danced out the door towards Wakefield. He reiterated the need to stimulate conversation surrounding mental health and wellbeing, and noted that associated stigma made an organisation such as SANE ‘very much a Cinderella charity’. Rory himself has been diagnosed with ADHD and so his involvement in this cause is motivated by personal experience. We spoke about the necessity of becoming actively involved in creative pursuits – whether it be dancing or doing stand-up comedy – and he illustrated the idea that artistic endeavour can help externalise emotional distress and be a cathartic process.
The event was part of the on-going Love Arts Leeds festival which aims to develop the role of the arts in health and social care, and challenge the stigma attached to mental illness. Overseen by the indefatigable Victoria Betton of Leeds NHS Trust, the Festival will run until November spreading messages of hope and positivity throughout the city. I also got the chance to meet volunteers from the Mind ‘Time to Change’ team who tell very real stories of living with mental health problems and of the role that art and creativity has played in their recovery. If you haven’t already, please check out their programme of events and get involved: http://loveartsleeds.co.uk/programme/
