"In the Living Museum, I can bring my rebellion to the canvas or turn my tears into a dancing couple. Here, there is respect, warmth, and the social connections I need for my art and soul."

"One thought and the feeling I had about it are still vivid to me today. Years ago, I had the opportunity to get to know the Living Museum in Wil for the first time. My thought was: What a fantastic and appreciative approach to working with the potential of our friends and family members navigating mental health conditions. What intense and multifaceted art I was able to witness! Wow!

At the same time, my feeling was a mixture of joy and sadness: Why are we, in our country, not ready to provide more of such social-psychiatric offerings for our affected individuals? Why aren't such offerings a matter of course across the board?

We, as family members, wish for opportunities, spaces for development, and areas of activity for our loved ones, so that they can participate in life. Thank you to the team of the Living Museum movement for persistently carrying forward this powerful idea."

"The Living Museum is the most beautiful experience I’ve had during my stay at the clinic. Here, I discovered new abilities within myself."

"The Living Museum is my second home. Like Alice in Wonderland. You walk in, and you can be who you are, and I’m accepted just as I am."

"The Living Museum is a place where I can externalize what’s inside me, in whatever form, through all the various possibilities."

“In the Living Museum I can be creative and most importantly, be who I am. I don't have to be afraid of being crazy, because there is always someone more crazy than me."

“Thus, we allow ourselves to be fascinated, irritated and captivated by the artistic works beyond a norm and precondition. Thus, we allow the empowerment and not the impairment to take effect and approach a new dimension of art. In recent years, this process of cultural recognition has been accompanied by the intensive and successful facilitation and promotion of artistic work for educational and therapeutic purposes by the Living Museum. In the sense of an inclusive art – an inclusive society an invaluable commitment.”

"Being part of the advisory board of the Living Museum Switzerland is an honorable commitment for me. During my diverse 25-year involvement in our family business, Clienia Littenheid, I had the privilege of regularly initiating cultural and artistic projects aimed at destigmatizing people with mental health challenges.

For this reason, I deeply appreciate the commitment, impact, and sustainability of the ever-growing Living Museums. They serve as havens in a demanding everyday life. They offer a safe space that can be used as a laboratory for countless creative opportunities. Above all, they are places that radiate a comforting sense of belonging—something that is positively contagious!

The concept of Living Museums encourages those affected, strengthens self-confidence, and continuously creates artistically surprising bridges to all areas of society."

"For me, the Living Museum is a place where I have time for myself, find myself, get to know myself better, and take care of myself."

"This place helps me regain the courage to show myself and look to the future again. I can do something! I’m creating something meaningful, something that comes from within me."

"As a sociable person, I feel at ease among friendly, competent, helpful, and nonjudgmental people. A little air and noise rarely hurt. And being surrounded by pictures makes me feel like a bohemian."

"The Living Museum is an exceptional and innovative approach to mental health care, and I wholeheartedly endorse this initiative. As an expert in mental health, head of the Competence Centre for Mental Health, and chair of the Taskforce for Co Creation at Mental Health Europe, I am deeply impressed by the transformative potential.

The Living Museum offers individuals a safe and inspiring environment for creative expression, helping to strengthen their identity and promote social inclusion. By focusing on the strengths and resources of individuals, it shifts away from traditional approaches and places people at the heart of an empowering healing process.

What sets the Living Museum apart is its remarkable ability to reduce stigma and foster connections between. It demonstrates that art and creativity are not just therapeutic tools but fundamental to sustainable recovery and building an inclusive community.”

“The Living Museum has been a haven for me during the past few years. It has been enabled me to stretch my creative abilities in ways I was never aware of. The possibility to recover my life and heal my soul can never be overstated. Becoming an artist through the Living Museum made this all possible and given me light where there was darkness.”

"The Living Museum means peace, a retreat, inner tranquility, self-realization, and a sense of security to me. Nice people are part of it too."

“Many famous artists of the past, as well as of the present, have suffered mental shocks. Art is the language of the soul, so it is not suprising that these artists in particular manage to touch people with their works. The Living Museum offers people with psychological suffering the possibility to express themselves with their creativity. They experience a community, they have a common place where they can be creative in many different directions.”

"The Living Museum means everything to me. It lifts me up and makes me a better guitarist. Here, we have everything we need, and we can take off with the band, perform concerts, and share our music."

"Art plays an important role in society — as a source of inspiration and as a critical observer. Art is a social necessity! It helps reduce stress and anxiety.

When people with mental health challenges become artists, miracles can happen. I was deeply impressed by this when I had the opportunity to visit the Living Museum in Wil. A true eye-opener!"

"The Living Museum pulled me out of a really deep void. And I pulled myself out too."

"Thanks to the Living Museum, I’ve found something that brings me joy again. I used to hike, and now I connect with nature through art. The plant world inspires me and my work. Painting calms me."

"Psychiatry is a place of borderline experience between health and distress, between what is considered normal and not normal. The Living Museum is a space that dissolves boundaries. It awakens one's own artistic potential, thereby bridging the gap between the contemplation of art and the creation of art. It aligns with Beuys' concept that every person possesses artistic potential. In this way, the Living Museum also naturally transcends the boundary between health and struggle, as it engages with the individual as an artist and a creator of art."

"The Living Museum is a second home for me. A home where my mental illness becomes a minor matter. Here, an alternative normality prevails, where authentic humanity takes center stage. What I initially saw as an occupational program quickly became an essential part of my life."

“In the Living Museum I can be as I am with my illness, I don't have to hide anything. Art gives me support, that I know that I am still capable of something and that I can get recognition as an artist. For me this place gives me safety and shelter. Here I learn to face my fears, become calmer, because there is no pressure here, and I am less destructive to myself. Here I am part of a community. ”

"The Living Museum is a brilliant place where you can just be. You don’t have to do anything. Everything is provided, and you can freely decide and experiment."

„The living museum is a hymn to life and living things, a sacred space of creativity and solidarity where people can reconnect with themselves and express the infinite range of their sensibilities through one or more creative activities and share this enthusiasm without judgement beyond the stigma of so-called “mental” illness. I was able to visit this exceptional place, and there's hope that when such a place is created, it will enable people to express themselves and flourish, and thus avoid the current dysfunctions of society.“

"The Living Museum gives me structure, support, and connection with people who understand what you’re talking about. Something binds us all together. Even though many carry heavy burdens, we can still laugh together."

"The Living Museum is a place where I can just be myself without being judged. A place where I can express myself in my own way. Here, I’m better understood because I meet others who are in similar situations and share similar interests. Here, I found my love for art."

“Impressed by the open approach to art on one hand, and by the patients' great commitment to overcoming boundaries, limitations, and exclusions on the other, I not only want to be inspired by the activities of the Living Museum, but also strive to contribute to making the great potential of this work better known and, above all, appreciated and embraced.”

"The Living Museum means relaxation, an oasis. It’s a community."

"As a five-year-old, I had to tell myself: You are all alone in the world and have to take care of yourself. And I did: I earned a professional degree and two university diplomas. Yet, I remained a refugee in my own country—without social integration. Now, in the phase of life when I have expertise, I also have no work. The Living Museum is my gateway to a life full of presence, offering me a perspective for living."

"The Living Museum is a brilliant place for self-realization."

"The Living Museum is a place where creativity, authenticity, and interpersonal connections take center stage. Through painting, I can be free and express myself in ways that often get overlooked in everyday life. Through art, I’ve gained a completely new understanding of myself."