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Description
The Museum of Madness has established itself as a talking point on mental health and madness, topics that are otherwise typically marginalised from mainstream settings. Talking about people with long-term mental health problems is still taboo, people are marginalised, socially excluded, invisible and unheard. And there is a strong belief in society that they are still well cared for behind institutional walls and that deinstitutionalisation is a utopia. Unfortunately, this is also echoed by politicians and decision-makers at the highest levels in the country. The problem is the ingrained perceptions, ignorance and lack of knowledge of the fact that Slovenia has ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and that Article 19 of the Convention defines the right to live independently in the community. In the project From Institutions to People (ACF, 2020-2023), we have developed new educational tools that illustrate the importance of Article 19 of the CRPD and the necessity of de-institutionalisation, i.e. the relocation of people and services to the community, through a historical example and in a historical context. As this is an example of the closure of an institution in Slovenia, it has additional testimonial power. Therefore, in the continuation of the project, which we have called From Institutions to People 2, we will work intensively on expanding the network of visitors: 1. young people (students of different disciplines, school students), 2. lecturers and educators, 3. professionals (social work centres, different forms of institutional care, NGOs and other support services in long-term care). The key activity will be to provide young people with knowledge and a critical view of LTC institutions and to raise awareness among professionals and the general public about the content and meaning of Article 19 of the CRPD and on the elimination of human rights violations related to institutional settings.
Summary of project results
From 1949 to 2004, the Cmurek Castle hosted the Institute for the Mentally and Nervously Ill. Today, it is home to the Museum of Madness, which has become a hub for conversations about mental health and madness—topics that are typically pushed out of regular environments. Talking about people with long-term mental health issues has still been considered a taboo, and it has been poorly understood that these individuals are socially excluded, invisible, and unheard. There has been a belief in society that it is sufficient to provide them with shelter, food, and a bed somewhere far from the community’s sight. Institutions have been wrongly seen as a good solution. It has often been heard that deinstitutionalization is a utopia.
In the project From Institutions to People 2, efforts were made to expand the network of visitors to the Museum of Madness. The goal was to educate visitors about specific historical examples of the functioning of the institution at Trate and other cases, explaining why placing people in long-term care institutions harms individuals, communities, and society.
Special attention was given to young people, students from various disciplines, and high school students. They were given the opportunity to explore various aspects of daily life in an institution and delve into practical examples. Support was offered to social workers (CSD, CUDV, VDC, NGOs, and other support services for long-term care), who work towards providing community-based services and preventing human rights violations, to implement and persist with changes. Teachers were given the opportunity to integrate learning materials in their programs with personal stories from practice. Testimonies of people with experiences of living in institutions and/or psychiatry continued to be collected. As a museum that focuses on inclusion and accessibility, the Endless Trate of Madness exhibition was enhanced in one part to be accessible to the blind and visually impaired. In this way, an inclusive approach was adopted, providing broader access to culture for a larger audience.
A new educational program titled ''What to Do to Stay Sane?'' was prepared for high schools and the upper grades of elementary school students. The program was conducted for 13 high school classes and 5 elementary school classes, totaling 18 classes. In total, professional tours were organized for 45 different organizations, for groups and individuals. The exhibition ''What Do You Know?'' was opened. A simplified typological reproduction of a Renaissance ceiling was made, a miniature typological cast of the relief ''The Dragon Devouring a Man,'' and various museum aids were included, activating different senses and guiding visitors through the exhibition, such as neo-Renaissance chests and a model of Cmurek Castle.