MIT Mind Hand Heart
OpenMind :: OpenArt Gallery
A month-long studio and gallery reimagining the future of mental health — one piece became permanent.
The Challenge
The MIT Mind Hand Heart Initiative granted us a month-long artist studio and a two-week art gallery inside MIT's busiest student center, inviting 11 community artists to reflect, provoke, and envision the future of mental health and wellness they deserve.
The Approach
We ran an application process to select artists, then orchestrated curated conversations and work sessions in the studio — building toward a single, cohesive, multi-media interactive exhibit open to the whole community.
The Process
Directed volunteer teams to transform the space into an immersive, welcoming world of art, technology, and community.
Programmed an opening night with performers and booths on the latest interventions for mental health.
Staged a live mural where a guest artist transcribed and interpreted visitors' submissions about the future of mental health.
The Outcome
Opening night drew crowds into comfortable spaces to read stories of the future and talk.
The gallery secured renewal funding, and one exhibit became a permanent installation in MIT's highly trafficked tunnels — evolving into a multi-year project.
From the engagement
