BALMY KÖLN

In the organizer's words:

That's the point

Have you ever been told that you are the problem, even though something inside you strongly doubts it? The "Balmy Army" is an art, activism and networking project for young people who no longer want to accept the current system of psychological care. Since 2022, Mad Pride activists, radical dreamers and artists have been networking here to fight for fair support through the means of art. With the arrival of the "Balmy Army" in Cologne in 2026, the collaboration with a group of young people from various residential groups of the Karl Immanuel Küpper Foundation takes center stage.

That's why you have to get in

Anger is transformed into political demands. Together with the artist "the vacuum cleaner" and Marie Sophie Gottschalk, the young people have started a process that breaks through the walls of the clinic. During the festival, their posters and demands for justice in the field of mental health will flood Cologne's urban space. More posters will be presented in the Carlsgarten at the Schauspiel.

Pssst!

Behind the pseudonym "the vacuum cleaner" is the British artist James Leadbitter, who has been making radical, playful and often provocative art about mental health for over 20 years. The Balmy Army is more than an exhibition. It is a growing community that shows that solidarity is the best medicine against a sickening system.

All information about the event can be found here: https://www.sommerblut.de/de/veranstaltung/2022-balmy-koeln