How it Started

The Resiliency Collective is a partnership between Illinois Association of Museums and NAMI Illinois, our state’s chapter of the Nation Alliance on Mental Illness funded by a grant from Illinois Humanities. The project joins our state’s museum and mental health leaders to foster engagement in community healing through art, culture and the humanities. The vision of the project is to reach individuals in communities who were not previously engaged in dialogues around mental health by welcoming them to familiar spaces like museums to facilitate conversation and learning.

Launched in 2021 as a pilot program, the project began organically with one community member, one big idea, and one phone call to IAM.  That community member, a teacher who had just come through the first year and a half of the pandemic, visited three museums on a semester break. She realized as she moved through the exhibits, that she was witnessing documented trauma spanning millennia and across forms and disciplines. It occurred to her how ubiquitous our pandemic experiences were and how ripe of a moment this was to connect with others who shared our collective trauma. She wondered what it would be like for all of Illinois’ museums simultaneously ran exhibits around the topic of mental health, using the resources they had already, but presented in different capacities and in different ways. Museum exhibits had the potential to be a tremendous show-of-force to the public acknowledging what we had gone through and what many go through with or without a pandemic. She decided to reach out the the Illinois Association of Museums by phone one afternoon, and year-and-a half later, we are preparing to launch the project.

The program includes three partner organizations in the humanities and cultural sector- West Chicago City Museums, Arts in Action, and Casa Michoacán.  Three unique organizations representing urban, rural, and suburban locations across the state, will simultaneously run month-long exhibits focused on the topic of mental health. These organizations offer services ranging from art experiences and workshops to historical exhibits to cultural services and education.

Each partner’s chosen format and content is tailored to their needs and demographics. IAM provides program support through event coordination, platform capacity, and exhibit consultation. NAMI offers each partner facilitation training and curated community resources and local and national connections.

This project is possible because Illinois Association of Museums recognized a need and an opportunity to fill it in a creative, authentic way. The goal is for this project to continue to expand this work to reach wider audiences on the sidelines in other diverse communities throughout the state. I am grateful to IAM for taking the chance on this idea and bringing this project to fruition.