Dear World Project was a cross-disciplinary public engagement collaboration that explored mental health, its diagnosis, and the use of labels often associated with feelings and emotions. 

Over the course of two years, the project hosted a number of Dear World pop-up events, where scientists sparked conversations with passers-by about their thoughts and feelings towards the use of labels and categorisation in mental health. Postcards and the postal system were used as a way for people to understand the difficulties associated with diagnosing and treating mental health conditions.

Using the insights gained from these pop ups, Dear World Project paired artists and researchers to explore the themes uncovered and the mental health research of the Centre through a series of explorative workshops. The artworks developed from these collaborations were featured in an exhibition. The scientific research behind the project is the work of scientists at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging and the Max Planck Centre for Computational Psychiatry at UCL, paired with 7 artists and makers to explore the themes of the Dear World Project.

In February 2020, the Centre hosted a two week exhibtion at Stour Space in East London showcasing the incredible artworks created. The artworks explored various areas of mental health from ‘what is normal?’ through to self awareness and your ability to reflect.

Explore our artworks and the people behind them here.