Over sixty-five events announced for First Fortnight Mental Health Art & Culture Festival, including Harry Baker, Mary Coughlan and more

First Fortnight, Ireland’s Mental Health Art & Culture Festival, has announced the programme of its 2025 edition, set to take place from January 4 to 17.

It will include over sixty-five events and one-hundred-and-fifty creatives and contributors, in theatres, beaches, music venues, and cafés across the country with touring events, dance events, theatre, discussion panels through the mediums of music, spoken word, poetry, literature, film, visual art, discussion and more.

With a shared focus of story-telling and connectivity, the festival will include acts such as Palestinian native Amir Sabra exploring, themes of resilience and connectivity in Within This Party, a special evening of music and poetry from Mary Coughlan and Paula Meehan at Whelan’s Live, among others.

The Therapy Sessions events is also set to return for this year’s festival, curated by poet Stephen James Smith and welcoming poet and world spoken word story slam champion, Harry Baker.

BOOKING IS OPEN! 🎉 Explore amazing events at https://t.co/PHJ5CGcgYe and plan your 2025 festival experience. Let’s connect, celebrate, and create change! #FirstFortnight2025 pic.twitter.com/3JKfQkF1He

— First Fortnight (@firstfortnight) November 26, 2024

This year’s musical soundscape will also feature Emma Langford, Luke Clerkin and Megan O’Neill, while film art featuring includes, among others, IFTA Award-winning feature documentary, The Days of Trees, BAFTA Award winning, Duncan Cowle’s Silent Men, as well as Love Yourself Today, which centres around singer songwriter and December Hot Press cover star Damien Dempsey.

The festival will also include the exhibition Where’s Your Head At? by photographer Emily Quinn, which is inspired by and created especially for First Fortnight,

Speaking of this year’s programme, Maria Fleming, CEO of First Fortnight, said: ”We cannot wait to connect with you, our audience, and after months of planning, we want to share the stories we have seen, heard and experienced with some remarkable artists. We are keen to hear your responses as you attend festival events, what will you choose?

“Will you experience Dublin at dawn, sing along with Mary Coughlan, create your own mini placard or hear our new special First Fortnight Choral Commission as it lifts your heart and spirit?

“We are on a mission to challenge the stigma of mental health and we do this through platforming artists who tell us their stories, our stories, and open up conversations. Change is possible, change for the better is possible, come with us and be part of that positive change.”

A number of First Fortnight events are free to attend, and others are listed as ’pay what you can’.

Find the festival’s full programme here.