Keener National Museum of Mental Health
New York City has over 170 museums but no museum of mental health. Building on the National Museum of Mental Health Project’s mission to inspire mental health literacy through creativity and culture, we propose that the structure currently housing the Keener Shelter be transformed into a physical home for a National Museum of Mental Health. Current shelter residents would move to the new permanent housing proposed for the Manhattan Psychiatric Center site, as discussed on the “Housing” page.
Experiential exhibits
Contact-based experiences that destigmatize mental illness
(Image credit: Carnegie Science Center)
The “Mental Health: Mind Matters” exhibition developed by the Science Museum of Minnesota (based on a Finnish Science Center exhibit) is currently touring museums in the US and provides an example of experiential museum exhibits. It uses immersive experiences to help visitors of all ages build empathy and understand the lived realities of mental illness, highlighting real-world journeys toward resilience and recovery. A published study of reactions to the exhibit while it was housed in Fort Collins Colorado supported that it provided a platform for destigmatizing mental illness. Telling these stories would be the central mission of the proposed Keener National Museum of Mental Health.
Historical exhibits
Contextualizing local treatment history
(Image credit: Philip Yanos; Centre for Addiction and Mental Health)
This plaque in Toronto marks the walls built by patient-laborers during the expansion of the Queen Street asylum. At the proposed Keener National Museum of Mental Health, exhibits could describe the history of Ward’s Island’s institutions, including the Emigrant and Refuge Hospital and the New York City Asylum for the Insane.
Cultural exhibits
Art by people with lived experience of mental health conditions
(Image and video credit: Fountain House gallery)
As a non-profit art gallery showcasing contemporary art from people living with mental illness, the Fountain House Gallery in Manhattan challenges stigma while cultivating talent from a wide variety of artists at multiple stages in their careers. Including art from past and present residents of the Manhattan Psychiatric Center and other recipients of public mental health services would be an important component of the proposed Keener National Museum of Mental Health, opening up visitors to engage with new perspectives and challenging mental health stigma.