A wide-ranging exhibition of works from textiles to photos to paintings, all share one common link – they’re all by people who have struggled with their mental health.
The collection, on display at the Bethlem Museum of the Mind, shows very individual responses to hospital treatments, through to how social connections have helped people outside the hospital.
The exhibition is peppered with scenes of gatherings, both spontaneous and organised, joyful and sorrowful. It also features the polar opposite – images of isolation when people feel abandoned by society.
Some of the portraits are quite striking, such as Benji Reid’s award-winning self-portrait, showing how his daughter keeps him connected to his family.
Elsewhere, grim photos of care institutions contrast with interpretive paintings of the sale, opening with a cry to stop treating someone by just shoving pills at them.
Patients’ views also appear in the local Bethlem newspaper, written by and for patients, even if the July 1973 edition on display opens with a criticism of fellow residents for not participating in group activities. That’s the sort of opening page that has me leaving organisations when they moan that their members aren’t sufficiently grateful for their efforts.
The exhibition is free to visit at the Bethlem Museum of the Mind and open until 27th June 2026.
Sitting within the 1930s administration building of Bethlem Royal Hospital in Beckenham, south-east London, the Museum celebrates the lives and achievements of those living with mental ill-health.
It’s open Wed to Sat from 9:30am to 5pm.
The SL5 superloop bus stops right outside the museum – making it about a 15-minute ride from East Croydon.