Ambitious Digital Exhibition Calls for Change After 50 Years of Mental Health Inequalities

A groundbreaking digital exhibition, featuring the powerful stories of 60 individuals, has been launched to address 50 years of mental health and racial inequalities in Leeds. Titled "Remembering What’s Forgotten," this exhibition amplifies the voices of those often unheard, particularly Black, and South Asian men, and calls for systemic change in mental health services.

The “Remembering What’s Forgotten” digital exhibition showcases the lived experiences of 30 Black and South Asian men, carers, community advocates, and asylum seekers. It also highlights the contributions of 30 community leaders, heritage, and culture activists, third sector representatives, and mental health system reformers. This co-produced exhibition is the result of nine months of interviews, focus groups, and creative interventions.

Prominent figures such as Arthur France MBE, Alison Lowe OBE, Arfan Hanif, and Marvina Eseoghene Newton are featured, sharing their insights and advocating for a more equitable mental health system. Professor Emily Zobel Marshall emphasizes the importance of amplifying the voices of those affected by mental health inequalities and committing to long-term structural changes.

The exhibition is a collaborative effort by Synergi-Leeds and Words of Colour in partnership with Leeds City Council, Public Health, and Forum Central. It is funded by the Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which has recently launched its first health inequality strategy centred on anti-racism in mental health services.

Dr. Sara Munro, Chief Executive of the Trust, expresses pride in the exhibition and highlights its alignment with the Trust’s new strategy to address health inequalities. Dean Matheson and Sharon Prince also underscore the exhibition’s role in raising awareness about the overrepresentation of Black men in restrictive mental health settings and the need for a paradigm shift in addressing these issues.

Sharon Prince, Deputy Director of Psychological Professions at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Co-Lead of Synergi-Leeds, added: “Remembering What’s Forgotten digital exhibition showcases the power of creative interventions to illuminate and amplify the voices of those who have been marginalised within the mental health space. It celebrates the innovation, resilience, and determination of individuals and communities who navigate this challenging environment.”

The exhibition includes a multimedia poetic response by Omari Swanston-Jeffers, the first lived experience poet in residence, focusing on the Black male experience of ‘bruddahood’ as a tool for navigating mental health challenges.

Plans are underway for an in-person version of the exhibition to tour community spaces in Leeds in 2025. The digital exhibition will serve as a campaigning tool for the third sector and a resource for statutory sector leaders and mental health commissioners to improve cultural competency and promote racial justice in service provision.

For more information, visit Remembering What’s Forgotten.