2436

Mental health condi­ti­ons are often asso­cia­ted with increased stress into­le­rance and vulnerabi­lity. These are some of the reasons why people with mental health issues find it diffi­cult to cope with society’s pres­sure to perform. Thanks to effec­tive thera­pies, these people can now be stabi­li­sed and dischar­ged from inpa­ti­ent treat­ment even more quickly. But society is not yet suffi­ci­ently ready for the inte­gra­tion and inclu­sion of people with expe­ri­ence of psych­ia­tric care. There are too few suita­ble jobs for the people affec­ted, which means that they are often unable to fulfil a role or a task in society, leading to social isola­tion. This makes services such as the Living Museum all the more important – an open space where people with mental health issues can freely engage in artis­tic acti­vi­ties. Brin­ging in artists without expe­ri­ence of psych­ia­tric care crea­tes a diverse mix and a support­ive social commu­nity. Scien­ti­fic studies have shown that artis­tic crea­tion can lead to a reduc­tion of tension, cathar­sis and a reduc­tion of fear. In a Living Museum, those invol­ved feel incre­asingly self-empowered, and hope can also revive during the artis­tic process. A Living Museum is simul­ta­neously an open studio, an art space and a museum of contem­po­rary art. Through active dialo­gue with the public, it also fulfils its mission to raise social awareness.

A valuable asset for society

The history of the Living Muse­ums began in 1983 in an aban­do­ned canteen at the Creed­moor Psych­ia­tric Center in Queens, New York. Convin­ced that artis­tic crea­tion could promote heal­ing and reco­very for people with mental illnesses, Dr Janos Marton, a Hunga­rian artist and psycho­lo­gist, turned the empty canteen into a place of crea­ti­vity. And almost 20 years later, the first Living Museum in Switz­er­land was opened in 2002, as part of the Psych­ia­tric Clinic in Wil, St. Gallen. Comple­men­tary thera­peu­tic services are now available at Living Muse­ums in 12 loca­ti­ons in Switz­er­land. The Living Museum Zurich opened in 2022, brin­ging the combi­na­tion of art and therapy to the city on the Limmat river. Gina Orsatti, Direc­tor of the Living Museum Zurich, explains: ‘A Living Museum in Zurich is a valuable asset to our society. People who are looking for stabi­lity and support after an inpa­ti­ent stay in psych­ia­tric care bene­fit from a space in which they can engage with them­sel­ves and their envi­ron­ment through crea­tive design.’ As with many other chari­ta­ble projects, the finan­cial situa­tion is not easy. Gina Orsatti explains: ‘For the past two and a half years, we have been running as a pilot project, based at the Hard­gut­bra­che. The fact that we’ve got an exten­sion of inte­rim use until the end of 2027 has eased the search for a perma­nent loca­tion some­what – but we are still inten­si­vely looking for suita­ble and afforda­ble premi­ses and finan­cial support so that we can main­tain opera­ti­ons in the long term.’ The fact that 74 artists were able to engage in artis­tic acti­vi­ties for a total of 2,436 hours last year is only possi­ble thanks to the help of part­ners such as the Schwyn Foun­da­tion and contri­bu­ti­ons from the City of Zurich, which provide substan­tial finan­cial support to the Living Museum Zurich.