The National Museum of Mental Health Project
What is your mission?
National Museum of Mental Health Project’s mission is to inspire mental health literacy, through creativity and culture - embracing sports, faith, the arts, and beyond - by bringing the museum to you.
What's yours?
What Makes You Well?
From before the American Revolution to the present day, a unique region of America, rich with natural beauty, history, and ideas, has helped shape the way we think about wellness. It is America’s Mental Health & Wellness Corridor.
As the nation’s 250th birthday approaches in 2026, we're asking a simple but powerful question:
“What makes you well?”
Let’s explore, together, the trails and corridors that lead to better mental living in our own lives - and on the soil, and in the soul of America.
Where are you when you feel best?
How often do you go?
America’s Mental Health & Wellness Corridor, Chapter One:
Patriot, Hero, Distracted Person:
James Otis, Jr. and Mental Health in the Eighteenth Century
James Otis, Jr. was a trailblazing genius and revolutionary-era patriot who sacrificed his health and reputation in the pursuit of freedom, privacy, and natural rights for those who live in America.
Otis’ life and ideas, both inspiring and troubling, splinter out in ways that defy the political and social divides we see in America today.
His story underscores how freedom, privacy, and a connection to the outdoors are essential to the health and soul of America—and how the fight for a cause can both define and consume a person. As you explore his story, we invite you to explore a secondary theme:
Where are you when you feel best? How often do you go?
This exhibition is a collaboration with Revolutionary Spaces, and curated by Lucy Pollock and Kate LaPine.
Who inspires you?
To whom are you grateful?
National Museum of Mental Health Project extends our gratitude to:
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National Park Service - for being the first national organization to recognize the America’s Mental Health & Wellness Corridor story as an important national discussion through its 2022 Work/Life Winter Series.
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Smithsonian Institution - for helping regions across America talk about their own unique cultures of innovation and inventiveness. The Places of Invention exhibition and instructional materials inspire the America’s Mental Health & Wellness Corridor effort.
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The State of Alabama - for being the first state in the U.S. to have the ingenuity to contemplate the benefits of building a national museum of mental health. This idea was included in a 2009 publication by the Alabama Department of Mental Health about potential future uses of Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa.
What kind of museum works for you in the 21st Century?
We believe a worthy 21st-century museum is not a building, but far more. It is inviting and enjoyable rather than distant or exclusive, and reflective of all voices in America rather than one-sided. It creates fun and meaningful ways to enhance the human experience and health, and builds a two-way relationship by showing up for you, instead of expecting you to always come to it.