BedFest
#BedFest is a virtual festival organized by The MEAction Network to highlight the experience of living with (severe) Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) through creative contributions.[1] People with ME were invited to depict aspects of their lives through song, poetry, spoken word, painting and photography. The festival premiered on Saturday, May 6th 2017, building up towards International ME Awareness Day, May 12, 2017. BedFest has now become a yearly event.[1]
#Bedfest was inspired by a meeting with musician and ME sufferer Kaeley Pruitt-Hamm, who had recorded her album Hi From Pillows from bed (debuted in May 2017), and by Bedstock, a virtual concert where musicians performed from bed to honor sick children who are stuck in theirs.[2] As part of #Bedfest, Kaeley re-released her music video Believe Her.[3] This powerful version shows the faces of people from three continents who want to raise awareness about the doubts and disregard they face regarding their illness.
#BelieveME project[edit | edit source]
The #BelieveME project hopes to address misconceptions about the disease (i.e. the focus on psychological and denial of physical causes) by encouraging people with M.E. to photograph themselves in their daily reality and spread those images worldwide.
As part of the 2017 festival, MEAction hosted a community call where participants discussed their work and what it meant to be creative while living with ME.[citation needed]
See also[edit | edit source]
- Kaeley Pruitt-Hamm
- Severe and very severe ME
- MEAction
- International ME Awareness Day
- Psychologization
- Ethical issues
- Stigma and discrimination
- Myalgic encephalomyelitis
