The Connection Salon Artists Collective presents Mad Pride Festival this summer from June 25–July 25, 2026, at the Gathering Place Community Centre. The free event features a diverse line-up of visual artists, stand-up comics, theatre actors, musicians, poets, and more, all in celebration of art-making by people who identify as living with mental illness, psychiatric disabilities, or “madness.” The festival aims to reclaim the term “mad” while celebrating neurodiversity and challenging psychiatric stigma.

“Connection Salon’s mission has always been to empower underrepresented artists, particularly those with lived experiences of mental health issues,” says Pierre Leichner, one of the collective’s founders. “There are not enough cultural spaces in the city that prioritize these artists. We know that art fosters healing and community resilience, that it is incredibly important to our wellbeing. Mad art asserts identity, builds community, and resists the reduction of this work to mere pathology, therapy, or even outsider art. The Mad Pride Festival is an opportunity to showcase our pride while also creating a sense of belonging for both artists and audiences who have been marginalized.”