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Making Meaning is a public exhibition at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, MA, featuring artwork by current and former patients and staff of the Center's Activities Program. First presented in 2025, the exhibition returns for 2026 with new works added, continuing to explore how creative expression has shaped psychiatric treatment and personal growth at Riggs for over a century.
For more than 100 years, art has served as a vehicle for self-expression, insight, and emotional exploration at the Austen Riggs Center. Building on the strong public response to its 2025 debut, Making Meaning returns to the Corner House Community Exhibition Space with new pieces from current and former Activities Program staff and patients.
The exhibition traces the history of the Activities Program, established under Joan Erikson's direction, and its continuing role in patient life at Riggs—including the Program's connection to the Austen Riggs Center Nursery School. Visitors will see artwork by current and former patients and staff alongside archival materials documenting the Program's evolution.
Details:
- Dates/Hours: Thursdays–Saturdays, 10am–4pm, July 9 through October 30, 2026
- Location: Corner House Community Exhibition Space, 48 Main Street, Stockbridge, MA
- Admission: Free and open to the public
- Contact: Alison Lotto, Manager of the Erikson Institute Library, Archives, and Operations, 413.931.5249, alison.lotto@austenriggs.net
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Austen Riggs Activities Program?
The Activities Program is a therapeutic component of treatment at the Austen Riggs Center that uses creative and expressive activities, including visual art, to support patients' psychiatric treatment and personal growth.
Is the Making Meaning exhibition free? Yes. The exhibition is free and open to the public at the Corner House Community Exhibition Space in Stockbridge, MA.
What's new in the 2026 exhibition?
This year’s exhibition features new pieces by Leo Garel and Activities Program staff members Chalice Mitchell, Michael McCarthy, Jim Markham, and Jill Gibbons along with new artwork by current and former patients.
Where is the Corner House Community Exhibition Space?
It's located at 48 Main Street in Stockbridge, MA.
How does art support psychiatric treatment at Austen Riggs?
As Joan Erikson, founder of the Activities Program and wife of past Riggs staff member Erik Erikson, so eloquently stated, “… art, crafts, drama, intellectual pursuits, involvement in the nursery school or greenhouse program are productive for personal growth and development in any individual. These activities … promote change in a positive direction, support competence, and enhance the dignity and identity of the person involved.”