May 31, 2006
Bonkersfest!:
Camberwell Green in London will be home to Bonkersfest! on Saturday 3rd June as mental health agitators and arts collective Creative Routes host a festival that embraces every aspect of the human mind.
The festival will be kicked off by the Mayor of Southwark and the Southwark Town Crier by the firing of a banana laden cannon, while DJs, bands, artists, performers and dancers will entertain the crowds.
Also included in the line-up is a Big Top, caberet café, cinema, talking lamposts and whispering trees, all in the spirit of bringing madness to the masses.
Camberwell is a significant location because it is home to the Maudsley Hospital, the spiritual home of British psychiatry and one of the world's leading centres for psychiatric training and research. It is also within the same NHS Trust as the Bethlem Royal Hospital - the world's oldest psychiatric hospital, founded in 1247.
The festival aims to promote an alternative to the psychiatric view, suggesting that unusual experiences and distressing emotions are part of life's rich tapestry rather than signs of disease or illness.
Creative Routes is run by people who have experience of the mental health system and has promoted healthier happier lives through successful and innovative arts projects and collaborations. Bonkersfest! will be one of their biggest events to date.
See you there!
Link to Bonkersfest! website.
