Festivals are great for us humans for so many reasons: to get out, to connect with others, to listen to live music, to watch performances, to try new things … and so much more! Pioneer researchers Liverpool Mental Health Consortium asked local communities in a 12-month pilot research project about the main factors that affect their wellbeing and the contribution of arts and culture on their lives.

The project focused on working in partnership with a range of Liverpool Festivals such as Africa Oye, Liverpool Irish Festival and Liverpool Pride, as a method of conducting public engagement around mental health. The collected research data was then shared with the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University as well as with mental health service commissioners at NHS Liverpool CCG and Liverpool City Council.

We here at Zest were honoured to work with LMHC on developing the project and to manage the Lunatic Fringe events, such as the Headspace Hangar at Africa Oye and Liverpool Pride.

You can read more about Lunatic Fringe here.