Two new exhibitions at the South Carolina State Museum highlight the conditions that people with mental illness faced in large, state psychiatric hospitals across the nation.
The first, "The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic," looks at the moving personal histories of some patients at the Willard Psychiatric Hospital in New York. Historians were able to reconstruct the individuals' lives from suitcases found when the facility closed. Created by The Community Consortium to honor the unique stories of these people, it is being circulated by The Exhibition Alliance, Inc., Hamilton, NY.
"Bull Street: Life Behind the Wall," provides a South Carolina perspective. The exhibit examines the almost 200 year history and operation of the South Carolina institution from the perspective of the patients who lived, worked, were treated and died there.
Both exhibits will be on display September 1- October 14, 2012.
This project is made possible by generous financial contributions from the following:
Mental Health America of South Carolina
Eli Lilly
NAMI Mid-Carolina
SC Protection and Advocacy
Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina
Three Rivers Behavioral Health
Pfizer
NAMI South Carolina
USC College of Social Work
SC SHARE
and
Special thanks for assistance in developing this exhibition to:
South Carolina State Museum
South Carolina Department of Mental Health
Historic Columbia Foundation
South Carolina Archives and History Center