Inside a building on the grounds of Queens’ Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, the Living Museum offers a different kind of museum experience. It is a working creative space where people receiving psychiatric care can make and share art.
Established in 1983 by psychologist Janos Marton and artist Bolek Greczynski, the museum was built around the idea that patients could be recognized for their artistic work. Artists create paintings, sculptures, installations and mixed-media pieces, with work displayed across the building’s walls, rooms and exhibition spaces. They can also keep individual studios and develop their work alongside one another.
The Living Museum also has a music studio where albums have been recorded. The museum store sells those albums as well as artwork by patients, bringing visual and musical work together in the same community space.
Sources: Atlas Obscura.