Museum Dr. Guislain — Attraction in Ghent

The Guislain Museum in Ghent opened in 1986 and is dedicated to educating the public about psychiatric care, a bold agenda for a museum located inside a psychiatric institution. Dr. Guislain championed the rights of the mentally ill and devised plans for dignified and humane treatment in 1828, when patients were still chained. The museum hosts exhibitions of work by mentally ill people (for example, the second photo shows a mentally ill person trying to make a map depicting Central America, part of South America, and Cuba). There are also exhibitions that examine how we connect to each other as humans. In addition to the temporary exhibitions, the museum houses three permanent collections: (1) a comprehensive exhibition on the history of psychiatry, (2) a catalogue of photographs of people with mental disorders dating back to 1860, and (3) a collection of foreign artists. The history of psychiatry records ancient treatment, from the ancient Greeks and the Eastern peoples (from the trepanation tools of Hippocrates to exorcisms), to the present era of psychotropic drugs. The museum also has a small collection of medical models related to psychiatry. The photo collection is based on photographs taken at the institution since the middle of the last century. Finally, the collection of foreign artists contains paintings and sculptures by self-taught artists from all over the world. Special mention deserves a section of the museum where reference is made to female hysteria and the means of dealing with it. These are the last two photos of the post. Those who read them were truly surprised and burst...

We went back for an extra day to Ghent just for this place and it was absolutely worth it. It was definitely a highlight of our trip! We saw the temporary exhibition 'Sensations' which was really captivating and interesting, with many different pieces of contemporary art all relating to the theme somehow. They also have an art gallery with an amazing collection of outsider art/ art brut pieces created by non-conventional artists. This was probably my favourite part as seeing these pieces provoked many raw emotions. It really is an impressive collection. There is also a permanent exhibition about the history of psychiatry - in my opinion a really comprehensive one, showcasing very well how different societies and cultures over history have viewed mental illness, the place of mentally ill people in society and their treatment. The items are beautifully showcased and i especially loved the texts - short, interesting, to the point, very respectful but in the same time with an intelligent sense of humor. The building itself used to function as a mental hospital which makes it all the more interesting. The museum itself is a bit more outside of the city center but easily accessible by tram (10 min ride) and i think it's a must see. I could have spent...

I have stayed in Gent many times and always looked forward to visiting the Dr Guislain Museum. This museum is one of the highlights of my visit, but this time it was very disappointing. I come for their fabulous exhibition of ‘Outsider Art’ which is exciting and stimulating and discovered that the collection had been put into storage to make way for a temporary exhibition due to open the next day 26th June.

‘Outsider Art’ is what Dr Guislain is about, it relates to the environment of a psychiatric hospital where it is housed. It does not make sense to me to remove the crown jewels of a gallery at any time. It would be like the Louvre putting the Mona Lisa into storage and still expecting people to visit and not mind. There were minimal examples relating to the development of psychiatry which was interesting but the work currently on show is uninspiring, and did not seem to relate to anything.

Dr Guislain seems to be caught in a dilemma: is it a gallery or is a museum? In my view it holds a historical resource which demonstrates the healing power of creativity through mental and emotional strife and the core of it should be retained as that...