Mind Museums: Former Asylums and the Heritage of Mental Health (Museums in Focus)

By: Francesca Lanz

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Synopsis: Mind Museums offer a fresh perspective on the heritage of mental health,bringing museums into sharp focus. Drawing on interdisciplinary approachesfrom architecture, museum and exhibition design, and heritage and museumstudies, it examines former psychiatric asylums that have been converted intomuseums.The book presents a comprehensive investigation of mind museums, thefirst of its kind in Europe, and explores their potential in raising awarenessand dismantling the stigma surrounding mental health. Through an indepthexamination of selected European examples, Lanz describes whatmind museums are and how they came to be. The innovative visitor studiescarried out at the Museo di Storia della Psichiatria in Reggio Emilia, whichare presented here, explore people’s encounters with mind museums andreveal the profound impact of such experiences. By uncovering the power ofthese heritage sites in facilitating discussions on mental health, civility, andcare, Lanz provides new insights into the emotive capacity of the museumand visitors’ reflexivity at place-based memory sites.Mind Museums will be of great interest to scholars and postgraduatelevelstudents engaged in the study of museums, heritage, exhibitiondesign, architecture, and mental health. It should also be of interest toheritage professionals, particularly those working in mind museums andother similar sites, such as prison museums and sites of conscience.