Abstract
The relationship between madness and creativity constitutes a deeply ingrained categorization in our culture, often portrayed in movies and newspapers, permeating daily life. Recently, even scientific research has been captivated by this theme, and studies on the link between madness and creativity are rapidly increasing. The MICA project aims to demonstrate that this identification is based on the mythology of creativity as madness and vice versa, finding its privileged domain in arts. To reassess the connection between mental illness, creativity, and art, MICA proposes an interdisciplinary research uniting the most up-to-date insights from cognitive and cultural studies. Drawing on new frameworks from cognitive sciences, semiotics, and phenomenological psychopathology, MICA aims to: I) Redefine creativity as a process of sensemaking that regulates human interactions with the environment, reframing the insights that come from the neuroscience of creativity. II) Demonstrate how psychopathological subjects exhibit unique creativity tied to their exceptional experiences. III) Frame aesthetic production as an outcome of creative processes and explore how individuals with psychopathologies use art to modulate their engagement with the world. IV) Propose a semiotic analysis of different media (movies, documentaries, newspapers) that exhibits the identification between madness and creativity. V) Propose a semiotic analysis of artworks produced by institutionalized patients and representatives of Art Brut. V) Reflect on how distinct creative modalities associated with psychopathologies intersect with assessments of artistic value in Western culture. Thanks to its international interdisciplinary network, MICA has the potential to reshape our understanding of creativity and psychopathology, to raise new awareness about diversity in cultural heritage (psychiatric archives, outsider art museums), and to incentivize a more informed media communication regarding mental illness.