Exhibitions about mental health – a platform for repairing perceptions and developing literacy

Abstract

Museums are discovering their role relative to health literacy. The growing number of mental health exhibitions may preface a “golden age” of museums advancing mental health by addressing stigma and fostering education with credibility, resources, and infrastructure. This paper provides a typology of mental health exhibitions and examines visitor responses to Mental Health: Mind Matters, adapted for North America by the Science Museum of Minnesota. Our research examined Mind Matters while on display at Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, Colorado, during 2020-2021. Data regarding visitor-level impacts were collected using index card responses to an open-ended prompt and via survey, and were analyzed using a hierarchical open coding strategy. Our research identifies how mental health exhibitions can impact sense of community/isolation among people with existing mental health conditions; understanding and empathy among other visitors; and, openness to help-seeking. Findings suggest museums can help reframe and repair what is possible with mental health.

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