Mental Health Matters Awards & Campaign Launch
Nua Healthcare Services was proud to join artists, families, partners and supporters in Dublin on Thursday, 24th September, for the 2026 Mental Health Matters Poster Campaign Awards Celebration and National Launch.
As the event sponsor, Nua was delighted to support a campaign built around a simple but powerful idea: creativity can help people express things about mental health that can sometimes be difficult to put into words.
This year, that idea inspired an incredible 165 entries from 23 counties, with people taking part through workplaces, schools, universities, communities and disability services across Ireland.
At the awards celebration, five winning and one highly commended design were unveiled, with the artists given the opportunity to meet the Minister of State with special responsibility for Mental Health, Mary Butler TD, share their work and explain the stories and experiences that inspired their creations.
While the awards provide an important opportunity to recognise the creativity and talent of those taking part, perhaps the greatest impact of Mental Health Matters is what happens around the artwork.
As Mental Health Matters founder Barbara Brennan shared, every entry has the potential to start a conversation – between an artist and a family member, friend, colleague, teacher or support worker. When that artwork is subsequently exhibited and shared, those conversations can reach people the artist may never meet – and we are already seeing where those opportunities can lead.
Last year’s Disability Category winner went on to meet An Taoiseach Micheál Martin at Government Buildings, while this year’s winners met the Minister for Mental Health at the national launch.
For artists who may never have imagined seeing their work exhibited, recognised or sold, these moments can be incredibly meaningful.
Why Nua’s Partnership Matters
At Nua, person-centred support means recognising each individual’s voice, choices, abilities and aspirations. That makes our partnership with Mental Health Matters particularly meaningful.
There is no single experience of mental health and no single way people should be expected to express it. Art provides another way to communicate, participate and be heard.
The selected designs will now become Mental Health Matters campaign resources, helping their messages travel into workplaces, schools, services and communities across Ireland.
Nua Healthcare Services is proud to support a campaign that creates opportunities for people to express themselves and helps individual expressions become something much bigger.
Reflecting on the day, Barbara said: “Behind all of the entries are hundreds of conversations about mental health that might never otherwise have happened. And that is where the real impact begins.”
