SMTD Mental Health Awareness Microgrant

The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance (SMTD) Mental Health Awareness Microgrant will award two individuals/teams up to $750 to support projects that use the performing arts to increase mental health awareness. Sponsored by the U-M Depression Center, the EXCEL Lab, and the SMTD Wellness Initiative, the microgrant aims to support undergraduate and graduate students in SMTD. 2020 marks the first year of co-sponsorship by the EXCEL Lab. An additional emphasis will be placed on proposals focusing on mental health and career.

In 2017, SMTD alum Alex Fox and his family established the “Fox Family Fund for Mental Wellness” at the U-M Depression Center as a partnership with the U-M School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. With Fox’s experience with mental illness in mind, the Fox Family Fund was created to support and educate SMTD faculty, students, and staff about mental health topics such as depression, anxiety, related psychological disorders, strategies for managing mental wellness and the stigmatization of mental illness.

Paola Savvidou, Wellness Initiative Program Manager at SMTD, says, "There is a great need to fight stigma and to promote mental health awareness within the performing arts. Because of the competitive nature of the field, signs of depression, anxiety (performance-related and otherwise), and impostor syndrome, are often ignored and more easily concealed as opposed to a physical injury. We are thrilled to invest jointly with the Depression Center and EXCEL in our students' creativity to shift the culture towards awareness, acceptance, and healing."

As a launch event of the collaboration, the Depression Center and SMTD started with a student support lunch workshop series. Following its launch, the collaboration started offering microgrants for SMTD students with the goal of educating and supporting their peers’ mental health. Some previous projects included:

  • The “Break the Stigma” event, featuring workshops and educational content on self-care, meditation, journaling, and emotional intelligence
  • The interactive “Vulnerability Studies” performance that touched on topics and skills such as journaling, meditation, and contemplative sharing
  • A curated collection of resources to support students in the arts

The application for the Mental Health Awareness Microgrant for this fall can be found here and is due on Friday, November 6, 2020, at 5:00 pm. The application consists of a cover page, grant narrative, project budget, and a recommendation letter from a faculty mentor. Recipients will be notified within one week of applying and must attend a training session by the U-M Depression Center on Friday, November 13 from 4:00-5:00 pm. Projects, which can take on the form of presentations, performances, research studies, media campaigns, and more, must be completed by Monday, May 31, 2021. 

Contact smtd-wellness@umich.edu with any questions.