About the exhibition
Curatorial team:
Clarissa Lütz (co-curator & project manager), Rebekka Rinner (co-curator & project manager), Thi Nga Nguyen (project assistant), Laura Schmidt (eduction and inclusion), Pia Ritter (research)
Empirical research shows that around 25 per cent of all people will be confronted with mental illness in the course of their lives, half of them in childhood and adolescence. In a time of multiple crises, the issue is becoming even more urgent: fears about the future, socio-economic uncertainties, climate change and the after-effects of the pandemic are putting a strain on mental health. Added to this are social acceleration processes, increasing pressure to perform and growing social isolation.
These developments manifest themselves, for example, in rising sickness rates due to burnout and depression as well as a growing need for therapy places that cannot be adequately met. The social costs of this development are considerable - both in economic and social terms. At the same time, there is a growing awareness of the issue, particularly among the younger generation, who are talking more openly about mental health challenges and questioning stigmatisation.
Against this backdrop, the exhibition poses the fundamental question of what health and illness mean in today's society. How do we communicate about mental health? What interactions exist between physical and mental health? What factors influence the risk of mental illness? How can we as a society promote mental health for all?
The exhibition sees itself as a contribution to a forward-looking social dialogue on mental health. It combines scientific expertise with personal experience and thus offers a multi-layered approach to a topic that affects us all.