The Basement and Brighton & Sussex Medical School

SICK! Festival confronts the physical, mental and social challenges of life and death and how we survive them. By establishing on-going, productive connections between BSMS, healthcare services, charities, local community groups and arts organisations, the project aims to:

•Embed clinical research and understanding in the content of the festival

•Embed the festival in the arts and humanities teaching resources at BSMS

•Facilitate the engagement of large and diverse audiences with research and clinical activity in BSMS

The project laid the foundations for a partnership model to be sustained as a key driver of the annual SICK! Festival and the Festival has continued to run each year.

SICK! Festival is the antidote to the physical, mental and social challenges of life. At the forefront of the arts and health agenda, the festival brings together an outstanding international arts programme with perspectives from academic research, clinical practitioners, public health professionals, charities and most importantly, those with lived experience of the issues we address. Taking the conversation into the heart of the communities where the subjects matter most, SICK! Festival creates a shared space for experiences, reflection and connection.

In 2015 the festival won the prestigious EFFE 2015/16 Award for excellence. The prize rewards 12 of the most outstanding European festivals of this year from a pool of 760 festivals from 31 countries. Selected by an international panel of experts, the award recognises quality, innovation and risk-taking approaches to festival-making.

For further information about SICK! festival events please visit the festival's website. http://www.sickfestival.com/