Sincerely Survivor – Film Screening and Q&A

Image: Sincerely Survivor behind the scenes, by Daniel A’Vard.

Dancers take on the role of pilgrims, exploring asylums of old.

Grace Dance Company presents Sincerely Survivor the Dance Film at The Big Anxiety Festival 2022, exploring an arts-based research enquiry into the mental health system and its need for reform.

Co-produced as an informal response to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, Sincerely Survivor amplifies the voices of people who have lived experience of mental health challenges; creating art to enable our empathy. Winning the Best Emerging Performance Ensemble Award at Melbourne Fringe in 2020, Sincerely Survivor re-humanises the experience of ‘mental illness’ and institutionalisation; recognising the strength of those who share stories of survival.

How to engage

Come join a not-to-be-missed opportunity to listen to the stories of mental health Survivors and reflect on what the future of the mental health system could be.

Sincerely Survivor will be showing at The Big Anxiety Festival on Tuesday 4th of October, followed by a Q&A with Director, Hannah Friebel and fellow artists.

This is a film screening and Q&A open to the general public. Book now.

Artist biography

Hannah Friebel

Hannah Friebel is the Founder and Director of Grace Dance Company, and is passionate about bridging the gap between dance and mental health. Hannah identifies as having her own lived experience of mental health challenges and neurodiversity, and in all that she does, she seeks to merge her artistic practice with activism and recovery. In her day job, Hannah works as a Mental Health Consultant at the intersections of The Arts, Lived Experience, Psychology and Spirituality – currently consulting around consumer choice, lived experience leadership and system reform at Monash Health. Hannah founded Grace Dance Company in 2020 with hopes to foster a mental health inclusive environment for dancers to create art and find community.

You can find more about Hannah’s work here.

Grace Dance Company was founded on World Mental Health Day in 2020, with a mission to care for dancers and communities through artistic practice and cultural storytelling. The Company has a strong focus on mental health inclusion, advocating for the future of sustainable and diverse dance practice. Grace Dance Company’s debut work – Sincerely Survivor – featured virtually at Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2020, winning the Best Emerging Performance Ensemble Award. This work explored mental health advocacy through the arts, with a focus on creating art to enable empathy, providing a platform for the lived experience voice. Grace Dance Company is currently in the process of creating a new dance work that explores peer support and recovery through an artistic lens, partnered with Schizy Inc, VicHealth and the Ducas Paul Foundation. Grace Dance Company is excited to present the work of Sincerely Survivor at the upcoming Big Anxiety Festival 2022, and connect with new audiences.

You can connect with Grace Dance Company on Instagram and Facebook.