Encountering R.D. Laing's Archive: Mental Health, Care and Creativity. (360G-Wellcome-104055_Z_14_Z)

2014 marks an exceptionally significant year in the history of mental health in Glasgow, being the bicentenary of institutional care, and this conference seeks to open up conversations about these issues through the lens of one of Glasgow's most famous psychiatrists, R.D. Laing. These events aim to bring together a number of individuals from across different academic disciplines, professions and communities to share reflections on the changing nature of institutional care. Using the 'Laing Archi ve' as a pivot this event seeks to promote the collections and to set future agendas for working with the 'archive'. A number of interconnecting events at the University of Glasgow are proposed. The first, held in the Special Collections, seeks to bring together a number of participants from across different backgrounds (artists, writers, service users, therapists) to explore materials held in the Laing collection and to generate creative output. The second will bring together leading academi cs from across institutional backgrounds to share, reflect and generate new discussions about mental health care in Scotland and beyond. Finally, the 1972 US Tour Showreel by Peter Robinson will be screened in order to generate further conversations about mental health, the arts and institutional landscapes.