Creative Conversations on Vitality and Distress: A New Dialogue for Mental Health

The second panel discussion of CAMHRArts will cover 'Creative Conversations on Vitality and Distress: A New Dialogue for Mental Health'.

CAMHRA is launching CAMHRArts, a new multidisciplinary strand that situates contemporary artistic practice at the heart of its inquiry into mental health and distress. Rather than reduce mental health and illness to strictly biomedical terms, CAMHRArts invites artists, art organisations, and scholars to co-create dialogues that weave together multiple knowledge systems, diverse modes of expression, and expansive conceptions of vitality and distress.

Rooted in longstanding calls from feminist, Indigenous, and other marginalised scholars for academia to recognise beyond‑textual ways of knowing, CAMHRArts seeks to foreground embodied, visual, performative, and sonic epistemologies. By fostering collaborations that cross disciplinary borders, we aim to expand the cultural vocabulary of mental health, challenge dominant narratives, and cultivate inclusive spaces where varied experiences of distress can be articulated, heard, and valued.

This panel will explore how artistic interventions can reshape our understanding of mental health, examine the methodological implications of integrating artistic practice into research as opposed to the common model where artistic practice is an “add-on” to research projects, and discuss strategies for sustaining equitable partnerships within the broader CAMHRA framework.

Panellists

Dr Richard Martin is Director of Participation at Whitechapel Gallery, where he oversees a multi-disciplinary programme for all ages, developed in collaboration with artists, audiences and creative partners. He is also a Mental Health Champion at the Gallery. Richard was previously Curator, Public Programmes at Tate (2016-21). His curatorial practice has been supported by teaching positions at King’s College London, Middlesex University, UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture, and Birkbeck, University of London, where he completed his PhD in 2012. He is an Associate Member of the Centre for Arts and Learning at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Priyesh Mistry is Associate Curator for Modern and Contemporary Projects at the National Gallery where he manages an ambitious programme connecting contemporary artists to its historic collections. Recent projects include ‘Nalini Malani: My Reality is Different’, ‘Katrina Palmer: The Touch Report’ and ‘Ming Wong: Dance of the sun on the water’ among many others. Previously, he was Assistant Curator, International Art at Tate Modern where he co-curated exhibitions, including the Hyundai Commission 2019: Kara Walker in the Turbine Hall, alongside numerous collection displays of artists from the South Asia subcontinent. Priyesh is a member of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the British School at Rome, sits on the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group led by the Mayor of London’s office, a Trustee of Studio Voltaire, London, and was a member of the Jury panel for the 2025 Turner Prize

Nephertiti Oboshie Schandorf is a British-Ghanaian producer and commissioner of site responsive performance, audio and moving image in non-gallery contexts. Her practice is one that actively seeks collaboration and is informed by the formation of protective networks. Formerly the Artistic Director of Peckham Platform, she is a member of the Art on the Underground Advisory Panel, a Trustee for Artichoke and the Engagement and Participation Lead at the Wellcome Collection.

Karim Sultan is curator at Bethlem Gallery, where he is responsible for exhibitions, artist development and programmes alongside the team. Karim is a curator and artist, and in curatorial capacity has worked on and developed numerous international exhibitions and programmes focusing on modern and contemporary art often left out of the art historical canon. Some of his areas of interest and work include: artistic agency and mental health, music & sound practices and performance, critical approaches to animation and games, international histories of art & architecture, and photography. As an artist working with music and sound, Karim has presented and performed internationally.

Panel Hosts

Dr Vera Mey is an art historian and independent curator. She has a particular specialisation in Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary Art. Vera completed her PhD in History of Art & Archaeology from SOAS, University London in 2024. She has recently joined the Royal College of Art as Tutor (Research), Curating Contemporary Art and Curatorial Research Fellow at the Manchester School of Art. 

Dr Nora Wuttke is a social anthropologist, artist and architectural engineer. She is a lecturer at SOAS and post doc in Durham’s engineering department, and fellow at the Durham Energy Institute where she is currently the artist in residence. Nora uses hear art practice as a mode of enquiry in her academic research.

CAMHRA

Further information available on the CAMHRA website.

Image: created with CAMHRA brand kit