First Fortnight will host the 15th edition of its annual Mental Health Arts & Culture Festival from January 6 to January 17, 2026, presenting events across Ireland.
The festival aims to challenge stigma around mental ill health through a diverse programme of cultural events.
Festival director Maria Fleming will be joined by poet Stephen James Smith as co-curator for the 2026 edition, with a programme that includes theatre, music, poetry, exhibitions, panel discussions, and film screenings, with nearly 40% of events free or pay-what-you-can, and most ticketed events priced at €15 or less.
This year's line-up features prominent Irish and international artists; among those participating are musician and author Declan O’Rourke, comedian and actor Deirdre O’Kane, poets Vona Groarke, Paula Meehan, Jan Breierton, Dagogo Hart, Emmet O’Brien, and Samuel Yakura. Other names include author Niamh Garvey, AsIAm founder Adam Harris, and writer-performer Chandrika Narayanan, while musical acts include Tolu Makay, Emma Langford, David Costello, RUA, and Toshín. International contributors include Inuit and First Nations artists Taqralik Partridge, Melissa Shaginoff, and Leslie Kachena McCue.
For the first time, the festival will stage an event at Ireland’s National Theatre, The Abbey, hosting In Good Company, a conversation featuring Declan O’Rourke and Deirdre O’Kane. The popular Therapy Sessions will expand to six locations, including a debut session on Árainn Mhór island off Donegal. The programme also introduces a Virtual Reality series, showcasing work by Tara Baoth Mooney, Sarah Ticho, and Brú Theatre.
This year's First Fortnight also features the premiere of Antidote2: A dose, A herb, A flat 7-up for your mind, commissioned by the Arts Council and performed by WeAreGrio, a collection of Nigerian-Irish poets and storytellers that includes FELISPEAKS, Dagogo Hart, and Samuel Yakura.
45 plus events will take place in Dublin and nationwide during the first two weeks of January, including regional development partnerships in counties Donegal, Down, Kildare, Wexford, Cork, Kerry and Limerick. In 2025, the festival attracted nearly 8,000 attendees.
Find out more about this year's First Fortnight programme here
