Until 18 August, the American Folk Art Museum will screen Francesc Tosquelles: Avant-Garde Psychiatry and the Birth of Art Brut, a journey through the legacy of a renowned Catalan psychiatrist and his avant-garde practices in the therapeutic, political and cultural field. With the support of the Institut Ramon Llull, the exhibition features a public programme that explores Tosquelles, who saw that theatre, cinema, art and writing could become fundamental therapeutic tools. The programme, running from 21 to 23 June at the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) in New York, will screen a series of films on mental health in which The Potential History of Francesc Tosquelles by Mireia Sallarès will be premiered. The Barcelona-based filmmaker and artist will participate in a post-screening round table with the exhibition's co-curator Joana Masó and sociologist Eric Fassin.

The cycle will begin with a docufiction by Abdenour Zahzah on Frantz Fanon and a short film by François Pain on Félix Guattari. Guattari and Fanon were both psychiatrists and political activists trained and influenced by Tosquelles. Also screened will be short films by Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub on the schooling of “misfits”, a documentary by Renaud Victor on the French educator and writer Fernand Deligny, considered one of the leading authorities on special education, and a selection of short films on the role of art in countering isolation inside and outside psychiatric hospitals.

The "Radical Institutions and Experimental Psychiatry programme The Legacy of Francesc Tosquelles" is curated by Mathilde Walker-Billaud (American Folk Art Museum) and Sonia Epstein (MoMI). You can see the full programme here.