Toward an Affective Turn: Hosting a Mental Health Exhibition at a Science Centre

Abstract

Mental health issues are affecting individuals worldwide.  It has been argued that science museums can play an important role in helping to confront social stigmas by joining conversations and enacting practices about mental health. In this paper, we focus on the exhibition Mental Health: Mind Matters developed originally in Finland, by Heureka The Finnish Science Centre, and then premiered at the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM; St Paul, U.S.A.) in 2018. Through a qualitative case study research approach, we asked: (1) What tensions and opportunities emerged as museum staff prepared the Finnish exhibit for its premier at the SMM?, and (2) How did the experience of working with a mental health exhibition speak to broader social roles and purposes of science museums? Data was collected on site and included: interviews with museum professionals, institutional documents, photographic records of the exhibition, and field notes written independently by both co-authors and research assistants. The findings of this study allowed us to identify events or moments of productive struggle experienced by museum professionals while preparing the exhibition for public consumption in the U.S.A. They also revealed important aspects related to a movement towards an affective turn in science museums marked by institutional values and practices that embrace compassion, humility, self-reflection, and the need for safe spaces for dialogue.