Healing Through Photography: Seeing Through A Different Lens

Join us in April 2023 for Healing Through Photography: Seeing Through A Different Lens, a conference examining the groundbreaking use of photography to improve mental health.

Building on our long-term work in mental health & wellbeing, we have been supported by The Baring Foundation to look at how photography can be used to engage, distract and support individuals with mental illnesses.

Taking place at The MAC, Belfast on 3rd – 4th April 2023, Healing Through Photography will see speakers from across both the arts and mental health sectors appear on a packed schedule, alongside events, workshops & exhibitions taking place across Belfast’s historic Cathedral Quarter.

With our work in Northern Ireland, Belfast Exposed is leading the way in finding a place for photography in supporting & exploring mental health, using knowledge and expertise gained from our day-to-day work. We are driven by both our passion for photography and a desire to support the mental health crisis we are witnessing in our communities.

Regarded as specialists in utilising photography in the field of mental health and wellbeing, we are proud to work with multiple partners across Northern Ireland. These include various regional Health Trusts, voluntary and community organisations and figures in academia. Whilst for many organisations, a need to focus on mental health came to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic, mental ill health already accounted for one of the largest and fastest growing categories of the global burden of illness prior to the pandemic.

This conference is an opportunity to share and reflect on the methods Belfast Exposed uses in our mental health programmes. However, this is not our only goal.

As well as sharing our insights, Healing Through Photography will focus on a wider conversation about mental health and photography. By bringing together a broad range of speakers, we want to encourage the sharing of knowledge and experiences that can be applied across the board.

Through connecting our community with industry experts, we want to diversify opinions, explore new research, debate best approaches and encourage organisations to exploit the benefits of photography contributing to better, more informed and aligned mental health and wellbeing care for individuals and communities.

To register your interest or for any questions, please email info@belfastexposed.org.