Annabel Gee

My research focuses on the representation of mental health within museum collections. At its core I hope my work will contribute to making museums more equitable, socially responsive and meaningful spaces for visitors and staff alike. My research, which is rooted in the social model of disability, aims to reduce stigma and instead facilitate sensitive and meaningful engagement with the heritage (and contemporary lived experiences) of mental health care.

I am interested in the full interpretation cycle in museums, from the curatorial production of exhibitions that discuss mental health to how visitors navigate, respond to and remember such collections. My background in history means that I am particularly curious about the intersections of academic and public history, and how we choose to both remember and forget in museum spaces.

Education

• BA, History, University of Oxford, 2020
• MA, Museum Studies, UCL, 2022

‘Mental Health in Museums: historical representation and curatorial responsibility’: presented at the UK Disability History & Heritage Hub connecting and sharing event, Manchester Deaf Centre, 6 June 2024

‘Dissonance in the museum shop: the case of the ‘BEDLAM’ coaster’: presented at the Cursed Objects in Museum Shops Symposium, Birkbeck Centre for Museum Cultures, 43 July 2024