Exeter arts project receives £15,000 National Lottery funding for comedy course to shine spotlight on male mental health
Exeter arts project, Alright Mate? CIC, is celebrating today after receiving £15,000 in National Lottery funding to run their new comedy course Jest for Men.
The organisation makes participatory art projects that normalise conversations about men’s mental health. The six-week course, led by award-winning comedian and comedy educator Angie Belcher, offers its male participants the opportunity to develop their comedic voice, gain confidence, and perform live on stage.
This vital funding comes from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK.
Cally Hayes, Director of Alright Mate? CIC, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, we can run the course with Angie, who has experience of working with men who have experienced poor mental health and trauma. The course will give the men transferable skills they can take back to their jobs and lives, while also helping them feel part of a comedy community.
“Comedy is a universal art form and there are many opportunities in Exeter to continue with their comedy ambitions afterwards if they wish to. We know we’re going to learn a lot. Whatever the man choses to share, creating the comedy will be a process.”
Alright Mate? began in 2019, in response to suicide continuing to be the biggest cause of death in men under 50. Its mission is to see a world where men can talk about their mental health without judgement or stigma. By using their participatory arts projects, they give men the chance to work as part of a group on a shared project, allowing conversations to start naturally. In the past, the organisation has run sessions on everything from Victorian wet plate photography, to recorded interviews and theatre plays.
One Alright Mate? project participant said: “I attended a wet plate photography workshop and wasn’t sure what it was going to be like. I ended up chatting to a few other people, and it was more informal, and was based around doing something practical with our hands, we just happened to get talking about other things.
“The second workshop I attended we were making prints from the wet plate negative and getting really creative. It was a bigger group of guys, and we ended up having big, long conversations about being a parent. It wasn’t sitting down and talking about mental health face to face, but we talked much more deeply and easily than we would have done if we didn’t have an activity to do at the same time. We found lots in common. There were different ages, and different circles we moved in.”
The project will evaluate the impact on course participants, looking at their wellbeing but also their social connections and whether the course helps them feel part of a community, whether it’s the beginning of new friendships or whether they choose to continue doing comedy and stand up. The course will take part at the Bootlegger Bar in Exeter, which already runs a comedy club.
Alright Mate? has always been passionate about delivering projects for men in familiar spaces where they feel comfortable. In the past this has included pubs, sports clubs and even barber shops. These known settings help to break down apprehensions as men are statistically far less likely to engage with health services than women.
Cally said: “We have made a lot of progress over recent years with regards to conversations around mental health, but unfortunately, we still live in a world where it can be difficult to do that, even though there is a lot more support out there. When we are children, we learn through play and then then we become adults we stop playing but we continue living.
“As life throws stuff at you, it’s often about having the right tools to deal with those curve balls. This is why our creative projects are so effective. We are all susceptible to our mental health deteriorating at times, but with the right support you can come through it.
“Men have this emotional world, but society doesn’t give them many opportunities to express that. So many men have said to me that even when they go out with their friends, they’re looking for a distraction and they don’t want to bring the atmosphere down but talking about things they’re struggling with. But in a group of people where they don’t already know each other, they feel more able to talk, if they feel safe to do so.”
Jon Eastwood, Deputy Director, England, at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “We’re delighted to support the amazing work of projects like Alright Mate, which help bring people together to make connections and improve their mental and physical health. That’s why our funding decisions – in the South West, and across the country – are firmly rooted in the unique needs, strengths, and opportunities of local people.
“For the last 30 years no one has done more to change the game in the UK than National Lottery players. But our work is just getting started, and we’re developing new plans to go bigger and bolder with our funding - while continuing to address local issues through our existing programmes and initiatives. We’re committed to pursuing a fairer, stronger society.”
Alright Mate? isn’t alone in benefiting from National Lottery funding. Today it was announced that over £13 million of National Lottery funding has been distributed to 263 community organisations across the South West in the past three months*.
This announcement comes as The National Lottery prepares to celebrate its 30th Birthday on 19th November. The National Lottery has been changing lives every day for the past 30 years, funding thousands of projects which help build resilient, inclusive, and environmentally sustainable communities - and create healthier and happier lives. Thanks to National Lottery players, more than £49 billion has been raised for good causes in this time.
National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. Thanks to them, last year The National Lottery Community Fund was able to distribute over half a billion pounds (£615.4 million) of life-changing funding to communities. To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk
