THE CONCEPT

The concept is for an ever-growing herd of amazing works of art (elephant sculptures of approximately 4 feet in height and length, decorated by professional artists and well-known Irish celebrities) displayed in reception areas and boardrooms of corporations to; showcase their CSR values; to identify themselves as business leaders that actively support mental health awareness in their workplace, and; to give people everywhere permission to talk about their mental health as openly as they would discuss a physical ailment, without judgement or discrimination, for the better well-being of the individual, family, workplace and society.

 

My dream over the next few years is for our society to show greater awareness, understanding, compassion and empathy around issues we often feel difficult to discuss, with people empowered to improve their own well-being by talking about their mental health openly and honesty, and to eventually see a brightly coloured elephant in every corner of Irish society, be it a house, sports club, school, university, embassy, corporate and multinational.  An Irish show of support and commitment to destigmatising and normalising conversations around mental health issues and to show that they are willing and ready to support talking about mental health. In my world, a problem shared is so often a problem halved.

My partners in this project

Elephant in the Room is a project created by The Art of Fundraising which has a track record of delivering incredible public arts events that raise significant funds for charities and other worthy causes. Images displayed are from some recent events across the UK and Europe.

OVER 100 000 VISITORS

Over 100,000 visitors to individual trails

500 artists

Working with over 500 fine artists along with many globally recognised celebrities

£1.75 MILLION

Over £1.75 million raised for worthy causes.

OVER £20K

Individual works of art sold for up to €20,000

MEDIA COVERAGE

Mass participation and national media coverage

COMMITMENT

AN ELEPHANT IN YOUR WORKPLACE IS A PUBLIC DECLARATION OF YOUR COMMITMENT TO SUPPORTING PEOPLE’S WELL-BEING.

When you commission an ‘Elephant in the Room’ sculpture for your workplace, you are making a public commitment that mental health at work is a priority for you.

There are lots of good reasons to sign up for our movement. These include;

  • You’re showing that your corporate values have your people’s well-being as a priority.

  • You’re creating an open culture around supporting and improving mental health in your workplace.

  • You’re joining a growing group of organisations across Ireland that are part of our movement to help raise mental health awareness.

  • You’re starting the conversation about mental health and signposting a clear structure in your organisation for support, access to resources and when required, direction to external professional clinical assistance.