Come join the conversation with 6 eminent speakers chaired by Heart 107s Dave Noonan to explore how we promote happiness through personal change, community action & public policy.
“In Australia, it’s estimated that 45 per cent of people will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime. In any one year, around 1 million Australian adults have depression, and over 2 million have anxiety.”1
“Extensive research has shown that happiness is good for our health, for our relationships, happy people have more friends, make more money and are more generous; happy people cope better with stress and trauma; and happy people are more creative and are better able to see the big picture.”2
Kickstart Arts are producing a public forum asking the question “Is Happiness a Matter of Survival?” to investigate the consequences of the above mental health statistics and explore some possible remedies. What can we do as individuals and as a community to bring about positive change in mental health?
The forum explores the causes and conditions of happiness and how to promote them widely through personal change, community action and public policy. What would the benefits be for us as a society if we did? What would the costs be if we didn’t?
Happiness Project Creative Producer Richard Bladel explained the reasons behind the Public Forum: “We’ve met a lot of people who are doing it tough in 2016, we’ve just had an election, and a lot of people are disenchanted and concerned about the state of our health and wellbeing in our Tasmanian communities. We wanted to find a way to stimulate discussion about how communities can lead positive change in well being rather than waiting for some government department to do it. We’ve got to start somewhere, so we came up with the idea of the Forum.”
FORUM CHAIRPERSON: Dave Noonan, Radio presenter on Heart 1073
SPEAKERS: Dr Sonam Thakchoe, Senior Philosophy Lecturer at UTAS
Dr Bruno Cayoun, Clinical Psychologist & principal developer of MiCBT
Deborah Mills, Arts & Cultural Policy Advocate
Dr Nicholas Hookway, Lecturer in sociology School of Social Sciences, UTAS
Jami Bladel, Artistic Director & CEO of Kickstart Arts
Justin Robinson, Director, Institute of Positive Education, Geelong Grammar School
SUNDAY JULY 24 – 2 – 3:30 PM
PEACOCK THEATRE
TIX $10 & $5 (CONC) AT DOOR OR BOOKINGS:
http://events.ticketbooth.com.au/events/22026
1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008) 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of Results (4326.0).
Canberra: ABS.
2. Greater Good, The Science of a Meaningful Life, University of California, Berkeley http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/happiness/definition
HAPPINESS: [hap-ee-nis] 1. “The experience of positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful,and worthwhile.”
HAPPINESS IS BACK!
COUNTING UP TO HAPPINESS – THE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
20 REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
20 SHORT FILMS ABOUT HAPPINESS FROM ALL OVER TASMANIA – 2010 to 2016
Kickstart Arts is delighted to announce Counting up to Happiness, a retrospective short film festival of 20 beautiful short films made by Tasmanians of all ages from 8 different communities over 6 years about the things they value and their experience of the true nature of happiness.
Counting up to Happiness is screening at The Peacock Theatre, at the Salamanca Arts Centre from Thursday July 21 to Sunday July 24.
The festival features 4 new films made during 2016 by young people from diverse backgrounds collaborating with professional Tasmanian filmmakers Roger Scholes, Troy Melville, Richard Bladel & David Pyefinch. These films include:
Taxi Music (Glenorchy) 5 Minutes. 25 seconds.
Afshin is a passionate young musician from Afghanistan who arrived in Australia 2 years ago. Music drives him as he drives taxis through the dark Hobart streets, leading to some interesting encounters. Collaboration with filmmaker Troy Melville.
Working It Out (Glenorchy) 4 minutes 12 seconds
When life gets hard, what gets you through the day? Who says Hip Hop can’t be happy? Collaboration between young rappers Nathan Lunson AKA Heartspoken, Jobe Hazard Boucher with Zac Henderson and filmmaker Roger Scholes.
Sisters of Shred (Hobart) 10 minutes 25 seconds
Young women are taking over the skate parks and shredding the streets. Fast moving story of Australia’s largest and most awesome grrl skateboard group.
Made by 48 Shreddas and filmmaker Richard Bladel.
Chemical Ocean (Clarence) 4 minutes 12 seconds
A young Aboriginal man’s adrenaline dream poem about a too fast life and the cool blue of nature.
Made by Jordy Gregg & David Pyefinch
Over the last 6 years, Kickstart Arts The Happiness Project has seen artists collaborating in 8 regional Tasmanian communities, with 1572 Tasmanians of all ages making 63 short films about the true nature of happiness. These films have been screened to audiences of over 5,600 people. Now it’s back on screen in Hobart.
COUNTING UP TO HAPPINESS – THE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
PUBLIC SCREENINGS
FRIDAY 22 JULY – 1 PM, 3 PM & 8 PM
SATURDAY 23 JULY – 2 PM, 6 PM & 8 PM
SUNDAY 24 JULY – 4:30 PM
PEACOCK THEATRE, SALAMANCA ARTS CENTRE – TIX $18 & $10 (CONCESSION) AT DOOR OR BOOKINGS
http://events.ticketbooth.com.au/events/22026
Richard Bladel
