Project: Asian mental health in Aotearoa New Zealand
Many individuals from, and working alongside, Asian diasporas in Aotearoa New Zealand, have consistently called for a greater focus on mental health issues.
The psychological distress caused by the pandemic worldwide has been profound for Asian communities, including in Aotearoa New Zealand, where Asian communities were already invisible in mental health conversations prior to the pandemic.
This is backed by research suggesting that such issues are indeed a rapidly growing concern among Asian and migrant communities in Aotearoa New Zealand.
This project, led by Mehwish Mughal and supported by Te Papa Curator Asian New Zealand Histories Grace Gassin, responds to this call and aims to highlight various discussions, understandings and perspectives on mental health of significance to Asian communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. It will do so by working with community members who hold relevant knowledge and expertise in a range of ways using Te Papa’s various channels.
As part of this wider project, we aim to collect around the history of Asian mental health advocacy in Aotearoa New Zealand, to create a digital zine that highlights complicated and nuanced discussions of mental health platforming Asian voices, organise tailored public programmes and create a short video series that involves interviewing community experts to highlight a range of mental health topics from Asian perspectives.
Asian Mental Health hub
On our Asian Mental Health hub you’ll find a series of videos, interviews, personal reflections, and a zine.
