The Museum of the Mind is fascinated by the work of art inside your head. Because nothing is as diverse, unique, powerful and yet so fragile as the human mind. Through its art and cultural programs, the museum helps to bring mental health and neurodiversity into the open. Museum of the Mind | Haarlem won the European Museum of the Year Award 2022.

Museum of the Mind | Haarlem is situated in a unique medieval building: the former lepers-, plague and madhouse. For years the building lay outside the city walls of Haarlem, sheltering the ‘insane’ and people with contagious diseases such as plague and leprosy. In this historical building, you will get to peek inside the minds of artists, writers and scientists.

The museum invites you on an interactive voyage of discovery into your own mind, and those of others. A museum bursting with personal stories, surprising art and an expansive historical collection, straddling the boundaries between healthcare, art and science. A visit to the museum is an experience focused on the wonder and versatility of the mind. Come visit and allow yourself to wonder about what is normal. Are you normal?

Go back in time and visit one of the very few remaining isolation chambers in Europe, dating from the 16th century. What does it feel like to be locked away in such a dark and confided space?