Mental Heads: Slamming out stigma in India
By Tom Higgins
On September 25 2016, patrons gathered at Eddie’s Bistro in Mumbai to watch a collective of spoken word poets perform their first ever poetry slam.
The arts are often associated with entertainment. But one troupe are using the arts as a vehicle to deliver a message. Mental Heads are a group of spoken word poets who suffer from various mental health issues and disabilities. Their goal: to ‘slam’ out the stigma related to these social issues.
I travelled to Mumbai to meet with these performers to discuss the motivation behind their work.
Tom Higgins
Tom Higgins is an aspiring writer, journalist, and communications professional. Currently Tom is a student at the University of Queensland where he studies journalism and communications. When he isn't at university, he can be found at Brisbane's community radio station, 4ZZZ. Tom's passion is centred around story telling, be it written, visual or audio. Tom's interests are somewhat diverse, ranging from arts and entertainment, the great outdoors, and social issues.