Who we are and what we do.
Since 2008 the music events of the Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival, programmed under the banner 'Music Like A Vitamin', have been growing in size and popularity. To build on this success and raise further awareness of the work of the Mental Health Foundation, we decided during early 2010 to go one step further and as well as organise the shows, create some new music to play at those shows too. It seemed natural that creating new music should be our way of getting further involved and getting people thinking and talking even more.
We decided to create a new organisation to allow us to do this and so after much mulling and head scratching we came up with the name 'The Fruit Tree Foundation' under which to organise this new branch of activity.
We then found some funding and organisational groups that could allow us to make the project happen.
You may have seen the pop ups for the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival or Breathing Space if you've already downloaded the tracks from the website. These two very important bodies have become invaluable partners of the Fruit Tree Foundation, without whom the Foundation's inaugural outing would never have been possible.
We would like to invite you to find out more about them by having a look at their websites; Breathing Space Scotland and Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival where you will find lots of excellent information about mental well-being and accessing of support.
The Fruit Tree Foundation is a constituted group, which currently operates under the auspices of the Mental Health Foundation. A steering group leads the project;
Rod Jones (Musician)
Emma Pollock (Musician)
Isabella Goldie (Head of Mental Health Programmes Scotland, The Mental Health Foundation)
Lee Knifton (Festival Director, Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival)
Pamela Clarke (Festival Manager, Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival)
Virginia Anderson (Volunteer & Charity Consultant)
The gigs, the album and our awareness raising programme would of course never have been possible without the musicians who dedicated their time and energy to writing, recording and performing the year's project – the album 'First Edition'. To create this piece of work, we had the pleasure of working with the following songwriters:
James Graham (Twilight Sad)
Scott Hutchison (Frightened Rabbit)
Jill O'Sullivan (Sparrow and the Workshop)
Karine Polwart
Jenny Reeve
Alasdair Roberts
James Yorkston
We thank them very much for their dedication and support during the past year in helping us to fulfil the Foundation's first ambitions.
The Fruit Tree Foundation would like to thank the following organisations for their support;
A Scottish Wave of Change
Awards for All
Breathing Space
The Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival
The Merchant's House of Glasgow
You'll find links to all of them on our home page.
If you'd like to contact us, please email Pamela Clarke.
The Mental Health Foundation
Merchants House
30 George Square
Glasgow
G2 1EG
0141 572 1662
The Mental Health Foundation is a charity registered in Scotland (SCO39714) and a registered company. (No. 2350846)