The Museum of Drug Policy is a pop-up international museum featuring live programming and art from around the world. It is supported by the Open Society Foundations and produced by the Soze Agency. The goal of the Museum, according to Kasia Malinowska, the Director of the Global Drug Policy Program at the Open Society Foundations, is to highlight “how drug policies impact and shape our communities. The Museum provides a powerful, emotional experience that illustrates the harms caused by current prohibitionist drug policies and advocates for new approaches rooted in dignity, health, and human rights.”
Piece by Alvaro Cuevas at the Museum of Drug Policy, Mexico City. Photo: © Janet Jarman/Redux for the Open Society Foundations
Opening night at The Museum of Drug Policy in Mexico City. Photo: © Janet Jarman/Redux for the Open Society Foundations
On opening night Thursday at The Museum of Drug Policy in Mexico City, visitors observe a sculpture by Alvaro Cuevas, an artist who repurposes guns that have been seized in Guadalajara into unique sculptures around the idea of reconciliation. Photo: © Janet Jarman/Redux for the Open Society Foundations
Crowds at the Museum of Drug Policy, Mexico City. Photo: © Janet Jarman/Redux for the Open Society Foundations
At the Museum of Drug Policy, Mexico City. Photo: © Janet Jarman/Redux for the Open Society Foundations
The Museum first started in New York City in April 2016 to coincide with the UN General Assembly Special Session on the “world drug problem.” Since then it has popped up in Montreal, London, and just this month in Mexico City. Currently, there is no set place for the next pop up but Malinowska says they are “looking forward to working with local drug policy and harm reduction organizations to bring the Museum of Drug Policy to cities across the globe.”
Learn more about the Museum of Drug Policy on their website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Want to support the Museum? Malinowksa says “We encourage visitors to support their local drug policy and harm reduction organizations that work tirelessly to mend the harms caused by the failed ‘war on drugs’ and promote safe and healthy communities.”
Words: Katta Hules Photos: © Janet Jarman/Redux for the Open Society Foundations.