THE BUFFALO REMEMBRANCE PROJECT AND A PERSONAL MEMORY

To honor the women once confined to the Buffalo State Asylum, community members have contributed objects from their lives. These momentos were then photographed and curated into this special exhibition at the Lipsey Architectural Center at the Richardson Olmsted Campus at 444 Forest Avenue in Buffalo, NY. The exhibit opens Thursday, January 29, 2026 from 6-8pm.

This exhibit brings up powerful memories from my own family and our dark family secret.

After the birth of her third child in 1922, my grandmother, Katherine, fell into a deep postpartum depression. Her husband, Casper, unable to cope with her illness, committed her to the Foxboro Asylum in Massachusetts for the rest of her life.This was the era before psychotropic drugs. Difficult family members could be confined in "Kirkbrand" style asylums (similar to the Richardson) and never seen again. My sad family history rippled out in many destructive ways over the next generations. I only discovered our shameful secret by accident when I was 22,  Katherine had died, and a nurse called our house. Suddenly, so much of our tense family atmosphere made sense to me.

I look forward to this exhibit and sharing stories with others.  

#memory  #mentalillness  #Kirkbrand  #Eighty-SixReasonsFor AsylumAdmission  #women'shistory  #postpartum