The association forum

Introduction by Pierre-Olivier Costa, President of Mucem, and François Crémieux, General Manager of Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille. This one-day event explores the links between mental health and creativity. In particular, it explores the ability of art to liberate emotions and promote well-being, especially for people in care and those suffering from neuro-atypical disorders. What role do these practices play in the care process? Art therapy, museotherapy and other artistic and...

In a movement comparable to that of #MeToo, certain artists and personalities are breaking the silence around mental health – whether their own or that of others – and paving the way for a destigmatization of this sensitive subject. Because to understand it, you often have to see or hear it, the word finally seems to be getting out, like that of Nicolas Demorand who, with his book Intérieur nuit, transforms a personal subject into a social issue. Before him, other personalities such...

Abraham Poincheval and Gurshad Shaheman, both artists and performers, explore in their artistic practices the links between creativity and madness, and take up issues of mental health. The exchange is based on the exhibition “Don Quichotte. Histoire de fou, histoire d’en rire” exhibition at the Mucem, and Abraham Poincheval’s performance “Chevalier errant”. Moderator: Olivia Gesbert, journalist, radio host and editor-in-chief of the Nouvelle Revue française...

“You can never tell stupid people they’re stupid enough,” Florence Mendez would tell you! In a piquant, jubilant stand-up comedy, the strong-minded yet ultra-sensitive comedian looks back on her journey, which has been fraught with pitfalls. With her characteristic acid repartee and quick wit, she tells you her story, that of a young woman who could not be stopped by the rejection of difference and mental illness. Surprising, touching and maladjusted, Florence Mendez takes...

Art and artistic and cultural practices facilitate inclusion and well-being, and help to change the way people look at things. So what role should they play in healthcare institutions? How can we make art and culture venues more welcoming, accessible and inclusive? This is what the Mucem has been experimenting with since October 2024 within its microstructure, a class that welcomes young people in situations of anxious school refusal. This session, an echo of “Me too”, tackles the...

Like Jack Black and Mos Def in the film Soyez sympas, rembobinez, the Usine de Films Amateurs is an original protocol devised by director Michel Gondry, inviting participants to create a film from A to Z, collectively and in record time (3 hours).
No training is required, the aim is to take part in a participative and inclusive experience, and to have fun making your own film using the equipment provided. After an initial visit to the locations to be used as backdrops, the group gets down to the nitty-gritty, from writing the script and choosing the actors to shooting the film and producing the special effects they’ve “cobbled together” on the spot. Finally, it’s time for the screening of the collective short...

Dare to take a step aside, and talk about mental health in a different way. To coincide with the new exhibition "Don Quichotte. Histoire de fou, histoire d'en rire" exhibition, and following the success of the previous event organized in September 2024 and dedicated to young people's mental health, the Mucem is organizing a second edition of "Bien dans ma tête", this time exploring the link between mental health and artistic creation. The October 17 event is aimed at professionals from the...
Practical information An association forum will be held from 9am to 5pm in the Mucem forum (free access, subject to availability). The forum will provide an opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with associations working in the field of mental health, and to strengthen the links between mental health and creation.
Moderator: Marie Le Marois, journalist, Marcelle media 9.30am to 10.15am, Mucem J4, auditorium, free access Is art good for your health? This one-day event explores the links between mental health and creativity. In particular, it explores the ability of art to liberate emotions and promote well-being, especially for people in care and those suffering from neuro-atypical disorders. What role do these practices play in the care process? Art therapy, museotherapy and other artistic and cultural...
10:45 to 11:30 a.m. Mucem J4, auditorium, free access Screening of Matthieu Parent’s documentary Les mondes de Don Quichotte (2024, 52′) In the heart of the Édouard Toulouse psychiatric hospital in Marseille’s northern suburbs, the Astronef, a unique theater, becomes the setting for an extraordinary human and artistic adventure. Amateur and professional artists, patients and caregivers, combine their imaginations to give life to a unique adaptation of Don Quixote. This...
11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Mucem J4, auditorium, free access The worlds of Don Quixote, on the frontiers of art and healthcare At the end of the screening, the various parties involved in the documentary Les mondes de Don Quichotte (Don Quixote’s Worlds ) propose a discussion with the audience about this initiative carried out at the Édouard Toulouse psychiatric hospital in Marseille. With Thierry Acquier, director of Centre Hospitalier Edouard Toulouse, Marie Laigneau Bignon and André...
2 to 2.45 pm Mucem J4, auditorium, free access Care through art? Hospitals and cultural institutions are increasingly combining art and care. This session presents different experiences at the crossroads of art and care. Art therapy is a therapeutic protocol. Museum therapy studies the benefits of museum visits on various aspects of health, whether at the invitation of the medical profession or on the initiative of the visitor. Artistic and cultural practices provide a valuable means of...
3.15pm to 4pm, Mucem J4, auditorium, free access The art of caring How can we forge a lasting, virtuous link between the healthcare and art sectors? This is the challenge of the new interministerial agreement on “Culture and Health” signed on July 21, 2025. Making cultural venues accessible, particularly to people in care and neuro-atypical patients, is a major challenge that requires cohesion between all the players involved. Healthcare institutions also encourage artistic and...
4:15pm, Mucem J4, exhibition hall, free admission with registration (on site on the day) Writing workshop in the exhibition “Populaire? The permanent exhibition “Populaire? explores our common heritage and everyday objects. And these seemingly mundane objects can be full of stories! Like the hundred or so labels that punctuate the exhibition’s itinerary, this writing workshop gives participants the chance to take part in a unique exercise: recounting the objects in the...