Edinburgh Summerhall exhibition 'has literally saved my life'

“It started in a chaplaincy,” says Lauren.

“We decided we wanted a venue that let us do 3D work because though the chaplaincy was free and great, everything had to go on the walls. So we went looking around lots of venues and we found Summerhall. We thought, ‘this place is weird but so are we, this is perfect’!”

Lauren (below) has been in the planning group since 2016, but never expected the brand to still be going 12 years on.

“That kind of took all of us by surprise, in fact because it was year-to-year at first, so we’re never sure if we were going to get funding for next year so it was an ‘oh yay, we have, we’ve got another year!’

"This is the fourth year of five years of funding, so next year is the last year and then it’s the review, which is… terrifying. I really, really hope we get more funding because this is just awesome and it helps so many people and it gets so many voices across.”

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The exhibition stresses the importance of collective advocacy – as long as you have lived experience of mental health struggles and you live in Scotland, then you qualify to take part.

“There’s a couple of artists that thanks to their mental health or the pressure of a deadline they couldn’t quite get things done so I think a lot of the exhibitors that come here, it’s a real celebration just to have it on the wall,” Pam says.

“It’s a huge, big mix of different types of people who make artwork – and we never know what’s coming in until we have all of the forms and the huge spreadsheets.”

This advocacy doesn’t just extend to the contributors – the working group is just as inclusive.

“Someone who’s been part of the group for 12 years – their voice is just as important as someone who’s just joined who’s never really been part of putting on an exhibition before. That’s really important to advocacy that everyone’s as equal as possible, so it’s a really nice way to work, it’s a nice way to do the arts,” Pam says.

It’s certainly something you notice immediately – the introduction room is packed full of accessibility features, with everything from fidget toys and ear defenders to easy-read text and reading magnifiers. It really does feel like walking into a safe space.

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“Accessibility is really important to the group,” says Pam.

“We try really hard with a small team. I always say the planning group is trying to create the world that they want to live in.”

So since they’ve found their home in Summerhall, what are they going to do with the news on the horizon that the venue may be closing?

“Cry,” says Lauren. “It’s not just the building, it’s the staff as well. They’re absolutely fabulous and they support us. They go above and beyond.”

“This is where we want to have it,” Pam adds. “For all those reasons – the staff, the ethos of the place ... even though the building sometimes leaks. It’s hard to imagine the exhibition not being here in this building. Sometimes I walk around other galleries and think ‘could it be here?’ I mean, if we could afford it, but I can’t imagine that.”

For some people, this venture is very much a lifesaver – Lauren included.

“I’m not the most sociable of people – I tend to hermit away and it gets to the point where my partner will poke my fence and say, ‘get her out the house and do something’. But this is the most sociable I am all year. It’s like all my socialising compacted into six weeks and that’s what I love. The family. Because we are kind of like this really weird found family!”

“A crazy family!” Pam adds.

“This time of year, it becomes a community because there are people who take part every year and then there’s people who come and see the exhibition and there’s some people who volunteer every year.”

“It really is family. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost this. This exhibition has literally saved my life – it’s given me something that I can do, something that I like doing and somewhere where I feel safe and accepted and just be me and people are absolutely fine with that. Even if I’m in a bad place, it’s fine because we all understand that,” Lauren adds.

“These places don’t always exist in the world,” Pam says. “Yes, it’s for people who’ve been to art school, but art is really far more basic, isn’t it, it’s really fundamental to who we are, expressing ourselves and creating ways… it’s a pretty human activity.

“My favourite thing about the exhibition is hearing what it means to people. Because you get very caught up in spreadsheets and emails and making sure all the stuff’s organised and making sure all the labels are all right but then you kind of … it’s quite tiring and you can see everyone else around you tired but then when you hear what it means to someone – like that’s different to every single person.”

The Out Of Sight Out Of Mind exhibition at Summerhall in Edinburgh ends on Sunday