Empowering Heritage
For the past 18 months, the Mental Health Museum, local Recovery Colleges and community groups have been working together on the Empowering Heritage project. Together we have:
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Explored the collection in the museum
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Curated an exhibition in Wakefield One
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Created artworks inspired by the museum collections
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Written and performed plays and poems based on the history we researched
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Recorded interviews and podcasts for our oral history archive
Below are just some of the comments made by those involved in the project:
“It changed me. That project made me stronger, more confident. Sometimes people don’t take you seriously. At the Museum the atmosphere was so beautiful, a more safe, natural environment. In seven years of experience with the Trust, this was a very different experience.”
“It was thought provoking. I’m looking at things from a different perspective.”
“It helps others. The project as a whole enabled us to talk about what had helped us when we were in difficulty.”
“I don’t care what people say, there is a stigma about mental health, but things are changing slowly. The stigma is still there, but anything you can do to alter that, like this [project], get on with it.”
“It was an amazing experience. Outstanding… It was about psychology and mental health, but it was enjoyable. It was outside pain, problems, tablets.”
Read the full project evaluation here: Empowering Heritage Evaluation Report
We are now working together on plans for exciting new projects, so watch this space!
Also, a big thank you must be said to:
Action Mix
Arts Café Players
Crafters’ Corner
Pontefract Arts Café
Portobello Craft and Camera Group
Calderdale and Kirklees Recovery College
Wakefield Recovery College
This project was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and South West Yorkshire Partnership Foundation Trust.