How do the many different mental disorders feel, such as an anxiety disorder, depression or trauma? And how do you put these feelings and the associated experience into words? Many people find this difficult, if not impossible. Many (former) patients have tried this with an autobiography. And yet you can only capture so much in words. A better (or different) way to convey an emotional state is with art. Varying from paintings, sculptures to video, music and dance. That is what this MADE-Life challenge is about: Art Made Open, a traveling exhibition that shows the vulnerable mental inner world to the outside world, organized in collaboration with Stichting Open Mind.

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During this challenge we work together with four art academies, their students and several dozen health experts. They will create works of art that depict the state of various psychological conditions. This is of course personal, but it is a powerful and accessible way to make experience visible and tangible. Each art academy is given a sea container as an exhibition space for the works created. The four sea containers are open on both sides and positioned in such a way that you can walk through the interior spaces to view the works of art. It is also being investigated whether MBO courses with their knowledge of stand construction and display can contribute to the presentation of the work.

 

After the premiere on March 3, 2026, the art exhibition will travel the country for a whole year and visit at least 10 municipalities. Our partner foundation Open Mind has a lot of experience with social art and exhibition projects in public spaces. In each municipality, where the containers will be for a number of weeks, we work together with local partners to further promote our message locally.

 

Timeline

• start first semester academic year 2025/2026

• works of art ready Friday January 30, 2026

• premiere of all works of art Tuesday March 3, 2026