How can art help mental health?

How can art help mental health?

I was here because I was uh starving myself so I I ended up on the Eating Disorders unit well initially it was a way of filling time because I was stuck on a ward I couldn’t get out but I worked on this same image this same face um and it communicated from my point of view my own sense of Darkness inside and also the confusion and sometimes aggression I felt at uh the treatment that I was receiving it’s very liberating I think you know so much of Hospital life is prescribed and what art does is giv somebody free reign just to go into themselves and say well this is basically what it’s like for me um and this is what’s going on for me uh and I think that’s incredibly therapeutic I’ve seen some amazing art created by fellow patients um many of whom have gone on to exhibit The Collection here is really significant we have works of art by people who were patients at Bethlehem and the morsley hospital and elsewhere but some of those patients are also internationally renowned artists like Richard Dad we also have works that are of Real historic value as well so people who come to the museum will see cbba statues of Raving and Melancholy Madness which for many many years were major London landmarks betham is believed to be the oldest psychiatric institution in the world um the collections that we’ve got here go back to the 1500s um so it is some of the earliest uh artwork and also objects and archives connected with the history of mental healthare probably in the world it’s safe to say [Music] we’d like people to come here uh whether or not they have an interest in mental health and well-being uh we’d like people to come just to enjoy the art but what we also hope is that people will go away having thought about some of those issues um and hopefully having a really good argument with each other about about some of the issues that we rais because none of it is entirely straightforward it played an enormous role in my recovery and it’s played an enormous role in my ongoing recovery it’s all been an incredibly positive experience and it’s nice after all the hell to leave hospital with something that you can be proud [Music] of you need to see what it’s possible for people who are so often marginalized to produce artistically you know mental health needs as much promotion as possible I think if the 20th century was the century of the body I think the 21st century will be the century of the mind and I think we more the more we can understand that through ART and creative practices the better [Music]

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The Bethlem Royal Hospital in south London is the world’s oldest psychiatric institution, treating patients for nearly eight centuries.
Previously known as Bedlam, over the years the hospital has acquired a huge and significant collection of art and artefacts, much of it by patients. For years it has been stored in unsuitable temporary accommodation. On Thursday a new £4m gallery and museum to show off the collection opens to the public.
BBC News was given access to the new space to see how art can play a role in mental health and met one former patient whose work is included in the exhibition.
Video journalist: Joe Inwood

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