Tapestry with contributions from the stars to feature at First Fortnight Festival in Limerick

The First Fortnight Mental Health Art And Culture Festival 2024 has events also in Cork, Dublin, Donegal, Wexford and elsewhere

(Left to right); Helen Delany and Brenda Aherne of Electronic Sheep in front of “Notifications Off”, their large-scale mental health themed tapestry which will will feature at Limerick’s Hunt Museum as part of First Fortnight. Photo: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland

A knitted tapestry with contributions from Gavin Friday, Róisín Murphy and Aisling Bea will feature at Limerick’s Hunt Museum as part of First Fortnight.

This annual two-week series of events, First Fortnight Mental Health Art And Culture Festival 2024, challenging stigma around mental health has spread from Dublin around the country, with events also in Cork, Wexford, Donegal and elsewhere.

The tapestry, titled Notifications Off, focuses on places, people and objects which brought happiness, particularly in times of sadness.

Designed by Helen Delany and Brenda Aherne from knitwear label Electronic Sheep, other contributors include Tomoka and Bamboo Westwood, Vince Power, Dylan Phillips and Laura Whitmore.

First Fortnight CEO Maria Fleming said this will be an exciting event.

“We commissioned that tapestry last year, and it was exhibited in Dublin, since then it has gone onto be exhibited in London and Paris,” she said.

“It is now returning to Limerick, and one of the artists trained in the art college in Limerick so it’s a homecoming there.” In Cork the festival is again collaborating with O Bheal, a poetry and open mic event, on January 8.

“I just love this event,” Ms Fleming said. “While this event happens every month in Cork, in January they theme it around mental health.” 

Children can attend Befriending My Monster, an event with song, music and drama helping them talk about emotions, taking place in Dublin and nearby areas.

“We have a dance piece for young audiences, to help young children explore really big emotions,” she said. “So emotions they might be confused by like anger or frustration, how they can deal with that or how that might be experienced in their body.” 

Among the 72 events are some focusing on women’s mental health to coincide with Nollaig na mBan.

The Smock Alley Theatre hosts a panel discussion on Saturday with speakers from Mental Health Reform, Mental Health Ireland, the National Women’s Council and Ms Fleming.

“We’re going to explore a few aspects of women’s mental health,” she said, adding they will focus on gaps in services identified in recent studies.

An art exhibition on fertility, Whispers of Resilience, runs at the No 8 Gallery in Kildare until January 20 with a panel discussion on January 10.

The artist Rosemary Noonan will speak, among others, including Dr Afif Khuffash from the Rotunda maternity hospital.

Ms Fleming said they try to make the festival as accessible as possible with about 60% of events free to attend.

First Fortnight runs from Friday, January 5, to Sunday, January 14.