The Center for Mad Culture

The Center for Mad Culture The Center for Mad Culture is dedicated to eliminating stigma by promoting the cultural importance and output of people living with madness.

We’re excited to co-host “Understanding the Contemporary Mad Movements” with the Centre for Mad Culture UK!📅 Saturday, S...
08/27/2026

We’re excited to co-host “Understanding the Contemporary Mad Movements” with the Centre for Mad Culture UK!

📅 Saturday, September 5, 2026
⏰ 7:00–8:30 AM CST (US) / 1:00–2:30 PM BST (UK)
💻 Virtual, free, and open to all

The event will feature a talk with Matthew Jackman (they/them), a Mad activist-scholar from Sydney, Australia, whose PhD research at the University of Sydney’s Centre for Disability Research and Policy maps Mad movements globally. Matthew is also the founder of The Australian Centre for Lived Experience (TACFLE).

This will be followed by an International Mad Activist Panel featuring Silvestre Barragán (Colombia), Co-director of Abolición de Lógicas de Castigo y Encierro (ALCE) and a psychiatric survivor; Grace Gatera (Kigali, Rwanda), person of lived experience and an advisor for the Wellcome Trust Mental Health Priority Area and commissioner for the Lancet Commission on Gender-Based Violence and the Maltreatment of Children; and Parth Sharma (Bengaluru, India), an abolitionist, anti-colonial scholar, person with lived experience, and global mental health researcher.

The conversation will be co-hosted by Matt Bodett, Director of The Center for Mad Culture in Chicago, and Julia Macintosh, Director of Centre for Mad Culture UK in Edinburgh.

📝 Register for free: Click link in bio and select first link.

The Mad Tea Podcast is home to some of the best conversations happening in and around mad culture! For too long, mad voi...
08/17/2026

The Mad Tea Podcast is home to some of the best conversations happening in and around mad culture!

For too long, mad voices have been silenced, dismissed, or medicalized. It’s time to change that. Mad Tea explores the histories, stories, and creative expressions of madness, amplifying its insights, resilience, and brilliance. We challenge stereotypes and reframe madness as a way of understanding culture, art, activism, and lived experience.

Curious about the history of the Cook County Dunning asylum and how people were treated there? We’ve got you covered. Wondering what it can look like to live with - or without - a DSM diagnosis? Hear from Ishaa Vinod Chopra and Matt Jackman. Interested in mad-like figures throughout history? Join us as we explore Milarepa from Tibet, Antonin Artaud from France, and more. And what about alternatives to the mental healthcare system? They sure are possible! Nze Okoronta joins us to talk about what those alternatives in practice.

Find The Mad Tea Podcast on your preferred streaming platform. Click the link in our bio to listen on Apple Podcasts, Patreon, and Spotify.

💬 Who should we interview next? Tell us in the comments! We want your recommendations. Who are the artists, activists, or mad folks you think we should be talking to?

Our Mad Book Club meets again this September! We will be discussing the poetry of Kashmiri poet and mystic Lal Ded (c. 1...
08/12/2026

Our Mad Book Club meets again this September! We will be discussing the poetry of Kashmiri poet and mystic Lal Ded (c. 1320–1392) and exploring connections between spirituality, social norms, and cultural ways of knowing.

Lal Ded, also known as Lalla or Lalleshwari, was a 14th-century poet and mystic from Kashmir (now divided between India, Pakistan, and China) associated with Kashmir Shaivism, a tradition focused on Shiva worship. Born into a Kashmiri Brahmin family, she was married and later left her husband, becoming a renunciant devoted to spiritual practice. Her poetry, known as vakhs or vatsun (“speech”), was recited orally and became an important part of Kashmiri literary and cultural traditions. Her verses engage with spiritual practice, Brahminical social conventions, and the search for direct knowledge and experience.

Lal Ded’s poetry has been shared across multiple religious communities in Kashmir, including through Muslim Sufi traditions and writers. Kashmir today remains a politically contested and heavily militarized region, shaped by histories of British colonialism, caste oppression, liberation movements, genocide, and nationalism. Her work is part of Kashmir’s complex history.

While “madness” is rooted in European histories, Lal Ded offers a connection to mad thought through her unconventional life, spiritual practices, and challenges to established ways of knowing and being. Her poetry invites us to think about different forms of experience, spirituality, and knowledge, and what happens when ways of living outside dominant norms are understood as meaningful rather than pathological.

We will meet Monday, September 7, 2026, from 6:00–7:00 PM CST to discuss her poetry. To convert the time, please visit worldtimebuddy.com. If you don’t have access to her poetry, let us know on the registration page so we can help you access her writing.

To register, please visit bit.ly/madbookclub. This event is free, virtual, and open to all.

We encourage you to read before the discussion, but all are welcome whether you’ve finished, are still reading, or haven’t started yet.

We’re excited to co-host “Understanding the Contemporary Mad Movements” in collaboration with the Centre for Mad Culture...
08/11/2026

We’re excited to co-host “Understanding the Contemporary Mad Movements” in collaboration with the Centre for Mad Culture UK! This event will take place on Saturday, September 5th, 2026 from 7:00–8:30 AM CST (US) / 1:00–2:30 PM BST (UK). This event is virtual, free, and open to all.

This event will feature two parts. The first will be a talk with Mad activist-scholar Matthew Jackman (they/them) of Sydney, Australia, who will share insights from their PhD research at the University of Sydney’s Centre for Disability Research and Policy, mapping Mad movements globally. Matthew is also the founder of The Australian Centre for Lived Experience (TACFLE).

The second part of the event will be an International Mad Activist Panel. We’ll be joined by three Mad activists and scholars from around the world: Silvestre Barragán of Colombia is Co-director of Abolición de Lógicas de Castigo y Encierro (ALCE), or Abolition of Logics of Punishment and Confinement. He is a person with lived experience and a psychiatric survivor. Next is Nan Marci of France, a philosophy researcher, poet, and artist whose work focuses on anti-psychiatry, feminism, and Marxism. Lastly is Parth Sharma of Bengaluru, India, an abolitionist, anti-colonial scholar, person with lived experience, and global mental health researcher.

The conversation will be co-hosted by Matt Bodett, Director of The Center for Mad Culture in Chicago, USA, and Julia Macintosh, Director of Centre for Mad Culture UK in Edinburgh, Scotland.

This international conversation will bring together diverse perspectives on contemporary Mad movements, abolition, anti-colonialism, lived experience, and the struggle to transform systems of psychiatry and mental health.

📝 To register, click the link in our bio and select the first link, which will take you to the registration page. Registration is free and open to everyone.

⏰ To convert the event time to your local time zone, visit World Time Buddy at worldtimebuddy.com.

Questions? Email [email protected].

We’re excited to co-host “Understanding the Contemporary Mad Movements” in collaboration with the Centre for Mad Culture...
08/11/2026

We’re excited to co-host “Understanding the Contemporary Mad Movements” in collaboration with the Centre for Mad Culture UK! This event will take place on Saturday, September 5th, 2026 from 7:00–8:30 AM CST (US) / 1:00–2:30 PM BST (UK). This event is virtual, free, and open to all.

This event will feature two parts. The first will be a talk with Mad activist-scholar Matthew Jackman (they/them) of Sydney, Australia, who will share insights from their PhD research at the University of Sydney’s Centre for Disability Research and Policy, mapping Mad movements globally. Matthew is also the founder of The Australian Centre for Lived Experience (TACFLE).

The second part of the event will be an International Mad Activist Panel. We’ll be joined by three Mad activists and scholars from around the world: Silvestre Barragán of Colombia is Co-director of Abolición de Lógicas de Castigo y Encierro (ALCE), or Abolition of Logics of Punishment and Confinement. He is a person with lived experience and a psychiatric survivor. Next is Nan Marci of France, a philosophy researcher, poet, and artist whose work focuses on anti-psychiatry, feminism, and Marxism. Lastly is Parth Sharma of Bengaluru, India, an abolitionist, anti-colonial scholar, person with lived experience, and global mental health researcher.

The conversation will be co-hosted by Matt Bodett, Director of The Center for Mad Culture in Chicago, USA, and Julia Macintosh, Director of Centre for Mad Culture UK in Edinburgh, Scotland.

This international conversation will bring together diverse perspectives on contemporary Mad movements, abolition, anti-colonialism, lived experience, and the struggle to transform systems of psychiatry and mental health.

➡️ To register, click the link in our bio and select the first link, which will take you to the registration page. Registration is free and open to everyone.

To convert the event time to your local time zone, visit World Time Buddy at worldtimebuddy.com.

Questions? Email [email protected].

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our Mad Social Hour this past Friday! Hosted at Pilsen Community Books in collabora...
08/10/2026

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our Mad Social Hour this past Friday!

Hosted at Pilsen Community Books in collaboration with Fractal House and Liberatory Care Collective, the gathering was a wonderful opportunity to share community resources spanning support services, mad literature, arts, and more.

A special thank you to Chicago author M.V. Perry and the many mad organizers across Chicago who worked tirelessly to create a mad books list and connect with local libraries to build opportunities for collaboration.

We’re grateful to everyone who showed up, shared resources, connected with one another, and helped make the evening so meaningful. Here’s to continuing to build spaces for mad community, creativity, care, and connection.

This past month, we wrapped up our Mad Prints 5-week workshop: a free, hands-on program where participants explored mad ...
08/05/2026

This past month, we wrapped up our Mad Prints 5-week workshop: a free, hands-on program where participants explored mad history and printmaking. The photos highlight some of the incredible prints created throughout the workshop!

Throughout the workshop, participants were introduced to the 1495 German text Ship of Fools by Sebastian Brant. The text is significant for its depiction of people labeled as “fools” within European society - figures who some scholars, including Michel Foucault in Madness and Civilization, have connected to broader histories of how societies have defined and treated madness.

Using images from Ship of Fools as stencils, as well as their own original designs, participants reimagined these historical narratives through the art of block printing. They transferred their designs onto linoleum blocks, learned the foundations of carving and printmaking, and created their own “mad prints” that reflect personal interpretations, creativity, and reclamation.
This workshop invited participants to explore European histories of madness, examine the narratives placed upon individuals and communities, and consider how art can be used to challenge, transform, and reclaim those stories.

If you’re interested in attending future programming at The Center for Mad Culture (it’s free!), stay tuned! We will announce our next set of workshops in September.
Interested in purchasing a mad print? Visit The Center for Mad Culture at the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, Illinois, every Second Friday from 5–9 PM to browse and purchase prints inspired by Ship of Fools. Except, we don’t be around for August Second Fridays due to travels, so please come by in September!

When you visit, explore all ten floors of the Fine Arts Building! Free and open to the public, discover art, learn about its history, and connect with resident artists and creative communities throughout the building.

The Center for Mad Culture, Fractal House, Liberatory Care Collective: Chicago, and Pilsen Community Books are partnerin...
07/30/2026

The Center for Mad Culture, Fractal House, Liberatory Care Collective: Chicago, and Pilsen Community Books are partnering to bring you Mad Social Hour!

Join us next Friday, August 7 from 6–8 PM in Pilsen for an evening of connection, conversation, and community with psychiatric survivors, mad folks, and allies interested in mad culture. These events celebrate the creativity, resilience, and history of mad identity.

Come by to meet others, explore books and ideas, and connect with community. Light refreshments will be offered. We’ll also have free resources, bookmarks, postcards, and mad book recommendations to share.

All are welcome! Questions? DM us or email [email protected].

Many thanks to local Chicago organizer and author M.V. Perry (author of A Revolution of the Mind) for making this event possible!

📍 Pilsen Community Books - �1531 W 18th St, Chicago, IL

Accessibility note: Pilsen Community Books is not wheelchair accessible. If you’re unable to visit in person, you can browse and purchase titles through their website, which ships across the United States.

Mad Book Club returns THIS MONDAY, August 3rd!For this meeting, we’re gathering to discuss selections from the book Stor...
07/29/2026

Mad Book Club returns THIS MONDAY, August 3rd!

For this meeting, we’re gathering to discuss selections from the book Storming Bedlam: Madness, Utopia, and Revolt by Sasha Warren. Published in 2024, the book examines psychiatry, madness, and social revolt. The title references Bedlam, the infamous nickname for Bethlem Royal Hospital, one of Europe’s earliest psychiatric institutions, which became known for the confinement, public display, and mistreatment of people labeled as “mad.” Sasha Warren is a writer and researcher whose work explores madness, disability, and social movements. Together, we’ll discuss how the history of Bedlam connects to contemporary conversations around mad culture, resistance, and collective liberation.

We encourage you to read the book before the discussion, but you are welcome to attend whether you’ve finished it, are still reading, or haven’t started yet. All are welcome at any stage of the reading process.

Join us on Monday, August 3, at 6:00 PM CT for a community discussion on Zoom.

Register for free at bit.ly/madbookclub to receive the Zoom link. You're welcome to join us for one discussion or many throughout the year.

Don't have access to the book? Email [email protected] for help.

This Saturday - May 9th!From 2-4pm - Free Art making extravaganza! Link to register is below Join us for an afternoon of...
05/05/2026

This Saturday - May 9th!
From 2-4pm - Free Art making extravaganza!
Link to register is below

Join us for an afternoon of mad community and art making—no skills or experience required!
In this two hour workshop, we’ll work together to create a multimedia art installation titled in search of lost stims. Stims and other forms of mad movement are often pathologized. In contrast, in search of lost stims frames these mad movements as expressions of embodied wisdom.��To celebrate this wisdom, we’ll engage in a series of reflective art exercises, each designed to connect us the mad wisdom of our bodily movements. We’ll look at art created by mad people. We’ll try some gentle movement. We’ll play with printmaking. Each activity is consent-based; participants are welcome to take part in some or all of these exercises.��By the end of our time together, we will each leave with a small poetry collection and (hopefully) a deeper connection to the way our own bodily movements operate beyond pathology, offering us grounding, affirmation, regulation, pleasure, connection, and wisdom.��While not required, participants will also have the option to be featured in the final multimedia installation opening at the Center for Mad Culture on February 12, 2027.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1987844092191?aff=oddtdtcreator��Questions? Interested but unsure? Email director Alexis Riley at [email protected] to ask questions or schedule a virtual conversation (camera on or off). We’d love to hear from you!

Address

410 S Michigan Avenue Suite 419
Chicago, IL
60605

Opening Hours

Friday 11am - 6pm
Saturday 11am - 6pm

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