“Art should comfort the disturbed” is what American social activist and academic Cesar Crus said.
The art featured in Out From The Mist might make you feel disturbed, and it should. We are telling stores about really difficult times.

We are not telling our stores for sympathy or pity, or because we want to be understood.
We are telling our stores because mental illness often makes us feel invisible – a theme that runs through many of the entries we receive. To be heard.
For people to create art and put themselves out there for you to see is incredibly courageous. It’s realising you’ve got such an incredible, exciting and powerful story about your own experience of mental illness that others can relate to. People who see these photographs, short movies and listen to the music, who have a mental illness, see the work and go “yep, I can relate to that, that helps me”.
This is how we comfort the disturbed.

Michael Lockwood, Creative Director Out From The Mist

Out from the Mist is a photography, short movie and music competition. The competition is about mental illness but is also about so much more. Individuals facing challenges to their mental wellbeing are varied in their experiences and their responses.

This competition hopes to capture the breadth of that diversity, from the experiences of pain and suffering, caring and empathy for loved ones, through to the elation of conquering obstacles.

All stories are valid and welcome: the competition aims to showcase the strengths and the travails, the joyous moments and the sad, of those who directly or indirectly confront the challenges of mental illness.

Entries:

2024 Competition
Open 1st July

“Secret Garden”

Image by

Teresa Lewis