Toi Ōtautahi 2025 Arts Workshops: Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Creative Arts

2025 Arts Workshops - Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Creative Arts, with Michael Hempseed

Wednesday 01 October

5pm - 7pm
Toi Auaha, 5 Worcester Boulevard
Free to attend - register by booking a free ticket through this Humanitix page

Artists and those working in creative fields have long been regarded as prone to mental health issues; whether connected to creativity, or arising through the challenges of working in the arts. Certainly, managing a career in a competitive and under resourced sector, can contribute to anxiety and burnout amongst artists and arts workers.

In this workshop, psychologist and mental health writer, Michael Hempseed will explore some of the reasons why artists may have higher rates of mental health issues than in other professions. It will also explore some of the things you can do to improve your mental health that you may not have heard of before, as well as how to approach people in your community that may require help.

Bring your questions and come and enjoy some light refreshments together as we explore some of the unspoken rules of engagement in the artworld.

Workshop schedule: Doors will open at 4.45pm. The workshop will start at 5pm sharp and take 90 minutes. If you cannot attend the whole workshop, you are welcome to come for as much as you can. Pēpi and tamariki are always welcome to attend with you!

About the Speaker:

Michael Hempseed is the author of ‘Being A True Hero: Understanding and Preventing Suicide in Your Community’ and co-author of ‘Calming Your Child’. Michael, is a very busy professional speaker, delivering between 150-200 talks every year. He has spoken to Fonterra, NZ Post, Fire and Emergency NZ and many others. Michael gained an honours degree in Psychology from the University of Canterbury in 2008. In 2016 he spoke at TEDx.

Toi Ōtautahi 2025 Arts Workshops

On the first Wednesday of every month, Toi Ōtautahi hosts free arts development workshops for artists and arts organisations. Want to know more, go to: https://toiotautahi.org.nz/