A unique project and exhibition that explores the history and impact of a former mental asylum in Beechworth, in north-east Victoria, has opened at the Albury City LibraryMuseum.Dr Jennifer Munday (pictured), senior lecturer and researcher in the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Education in Albury-Wodonga and one of the curators, said the project titled Bedlam: living with a mental asylum in town has collected narrative data and artefacts for several years which now feature in the exhibition Up Top: A Sense of Place for Mayday Hills Hospital."Bedlam is an applied theatre, history and arts project that helps audiences and participants reflect on the multiple perspectives that co-exist around a significant site within community," Dr Munday said."Mayday Hills Hospital, the former Beechworth mental asylum, referred to as 'Up Top' by locals, has been an iconic presence in the North East Victorian community for more than 140 years," she said."Since the mental asylum opened there in 1867 approximately 9 000 people lived and died there during its 128-year history."One of the central aims of the Bedlam project is to investigate senses of place, along with the living memories of those who have in some way experienced the site."The re-organisation of Mayday Hills throughout its history, and its subsequent closure as a mental asylum, meant changes in the way the community, health services, and patients lived their lives."This project aimed to activate the voices of those touched by their experiences of Mayday Hills, and to provoke a community dialogue about both the history of Mayday Hills and its ongoing presence in the community."Dr Munday said, "One way of achieving this objective is the inclusion of a Story Booth in the LibraryMuseum exhibition where visitors can record their memories of visiting, working or having connections to Mayday Hills."Up Top: A Sense of Place for Mayday Hills Hospital was officially opened at 2pm Saturday 23 July by Professor Bruce Pennay, and will be exhibited until Sunday 25 September and throughout the Write Around the Murray Festival. Find out more about the project here.