Open Forum

Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!

HI! We actually worked with Indiana State on this project and helped them to design the Fix! Exhibit. We would be happy to share our experience developing the project and what we learned!

Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!

There was a great MuseumNext article on the topic.
https://www.museumnext.com/article/museums-and-addiction/

I didn't see it, but I heard good things about "Hooked" at Emory University in Atlanta.
https://www.atlanta.sciencegallery.com/hooked

Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!

Science Gallery Atlanta's inaugural exhibition, Hooked: When Want Becomes Need, in 2022, was an immersive art exhibition featuring work by America and European artists and researchers, themed on addiction. Exhibits covered the wide gamut of the topic, from the neurological mechanics to the lived experience, from drug addiction to addiction to shopping and phones. It was based on a similar exhibition at Science Gallery London a few years earlier.

The organizers of the Atlanta show have moved on to other institutions, but I was the designer and my company, Flutter & Wow worked with artists and installed the exhibition, if you'd like more information I'd be happy to share.

Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!

Such an impactful project to undertake, @Maribel Ibarra. And I love all the ideas and examples from folks. I was curious about this, because I know addiction research and the American "war on drugs" can be biased. I found a couple examples that seem to be interesting. 

The INTO LIGHT Project –mentioned, "Drug Addiction: Real People, Real Stories," seems like a powerful example of real life impact. They're portrait-and-narrative exhibitions installed state by state, each showing 30-40 graphite portraits of people who died from addiction, paired with short life stories; the explicit aim is to humanize addiction and reduce stigma.

There's also one from the Museum of Addiction & Recovery that got me down a rabbit hole. It's a virtual museum that curates artworks and stories by people in active addiction and recovery, plus pop‑up shows like "The Madness & Me: Art from the Edges of Addiction" and "Redemption Through Creation."

HOOKED: When Want Becomes Need is an interactive art–science exhibition through Science Gallery Atlanta that explicitly frames addiction through a public health lens and emphasizes that "no one is exempt," exploring many forms of compulsive behavior, not only drugs.

Here's one I found that seems interesting if you're looking for a different viewpoint: DEA Museum and traveling exhibits ("Drugs: Costs and Consequences"). It's permanent and traveling exhibits that emphasize enforcement, policy history, and the societal costs of drug use, including interactive displays and artifacts.

I like that these have themes and practices like humanizing over moralizing, public health framing, lived-experience collaboration, and local data plus local stories (as you know, storytelling is so powerful.) I hope you find some solid inspiration in these conversations! 

Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!

------------------------------
Maribel Ibarra
Executive Director
Sietecolores: Ideas Interactivas
Mexico City
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Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

We are starting a project on the subject of drugs and addiction, but we wanted to get references on how other museums and exhibits are presenting this sensitive topic. Any references that you know about?

Thank you!