National Museum of Mental Health Project - Virtual Museum

The following provided by Paul Piwko.

NMMHP Developing Virtual Museum

National Museum of Mental Health Project, Inc., inspired by Medfield State Hospital Cemetery and Founded by MetroWest Residents, now developing Virtual Museum.

The National Museum of Mental Health Project, Inc. (NMMHP), a group initially formed in 2019, has been incorporated as a not-for-profit organization with an expanded mission to develop virtual exhibits that transform society’s understanding of mental health. The initial vision for its work came during visits to the Medfield State Hospital Cemetery in 2017.

The work of NMMHP founders Paul Piwko, a professor in the Grenon School of Business at Assumption University, and Alexandra Orlandi, an AU alumna and Mental Health Specialist at McLean Hospital, initially focused on researching and publishing the benefits of mental health exhibitions. Prior to the pandemic, the display of mental health exhibitions in museums, airports, and malls was increasing. NMMHP now seeks to expand this trend from brick-and-mortar establishments to the internet at a time when museums are increasing their online visibility and the COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented need for mental health resources.

Virtual museums side-step the cost of physical buildings and dramatically increase visitor accessibility. Piwko compares the concept of a virtual museum to a “museum without walls” like GirlMuseum.org, an online museum dedicated to celebrating girlhood. Piwko states, “What Ashley Remer has done with Girl Museum is what we seek to replicate. From her living room in New Zealand, financed by a few thousand dollars annually, she created one of the world’s first virtual museums.”

NMMHP exhibitions will promote mental health literacy by sharing personal narratives and expanding vocabulary. Orlandi says, “Learning about mental illness and wellness isn’t just about reading textbooks, listening to lectures, or seeing a therapist. Learning is also observing and exploring.” Exhibits will provide a unique space for visitors to experientially interact with content.

NMMHP is currently developing its first exhibition, I Get It, which will launch in 2021 on its website NMMHProject.org and via social media. The website was designed by Assumption alumna Kate Kruzick and launched via Wifi hotspot from the grounds of the Medfield State Hospital Cemetery.

Although NMMHP seeks a national audience for its research and exhibitions, all founding board members are residents of MetroWest and Worcester County. Piwko and board secretary Anne Walton are Milford residents, and Orlandi lives in Hudson. Piwko and Orlandi completed a research fellowship about mental health exhibitions and have been published by numerous news outlets, including the Des Moines Register, the Omaha World-Herald, and the MetroWest Daily News. They presented their work to the New England Museum Association in 2018 and will be presenting at the 2021 Mental Health America Annual Conference.

In January 2020, prior to its formation as a nonprofit, NMMHP participated in the annual Nonprofit Careers Conference at College of the Holy Cross. The organization’s connection to Holy Cross and MetroWest deepened this past fall with the hiring of Communications Intern Emily Taylor, a junior at Holy Cross who is from Hopkinton. In addition to its Holy Cross and Assumption connections, NMMHP has received strategic guidance from the McGovern Center at Dakota Wesleyan University in South Dakota.

Piwko says, “We take inspiration from the rich history and people of Worcester and MetroWest in impacting the national dialogue on mental health, such as nineteenth century reformer Dorothea Dix and mindfulness innovator Jon Kabat-Zinn. We feel our goals come from that same spirit.”

The impact of the mental health exhibition trend has already been experienced locally. In 2019 the Worcester PopUp Museum hosted the first public unveiling of I Am More: Massachusetts by artist Amy Kerr, whose exhibition is profiled on NMMHP’s website.

More information about NMMHP and its plans for its inaugural exhibition I Get It is available at NMMHProject.org. Anyone seeking additional information or offering to volunteer or donate can contact the group by email at NMMHProject@gmail.com.

About the National Museum of Mental Health Project

The National Museum of Mental Health Project, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that researches and creates exhibitions that transform society’s attitudes about, and understanding of, mental health. Initially conceived as a clearinghouse for the sharing of mental health exhibitions and information about them, its formation as a nonprofit will enable the development of online exhibits that educate, interpret, advance dialogue, and develop literacy on the topic of mental health. For more information, visit NMMHProject.org.