About the Collection

The Cunningham Dax Collection consists of over 12,000 creative works on paper, paintings, ceramics and textiles, created by people who have experienced mental illness or psychological trauma. The Collection is dedicated to the conservation and ethical exhibition of these works, and the use of art in public mental health education.

Much more than an art gallery, the centre provides a multidimensional experience in the growing field of art in mental health. Increasingly diverse audiences reflect the broader community's interest in creativity and the mind.

Our Mission

To promote widely a greater understanding of people who experience mental illness and/or psychological trauma, and to foster an appreciation of their creativity through the preservation and ethical presentation of their original works.

Our Vision

To become a centre of excellence in the exploration of creativity and mental illness by providing local and international leadership in the study of human psychological experience through art and other related creative endeavours.

Our Goals

To create stimulating and unique experiences for audiences, reflecting the Collection's diversity, enabling an increasingly broad audience to access the works of the Collection.

To expand educational learning experiences and opportunities for current and future audiences.

Continue to acquire, conserve and exhibit works created by people who have an experience of mental illness and/or trauma according to an ethical multi-dimensional framework with high curatorial standards.

Develop programs and cultural activities through relationships and partnerships with diverse local, national and international communities.

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A Brief History of the Collection

Dr Eric Cunningham Dax [1908-2008]

During the course of the 20th century there was an increasing interest in the therapeutic and diagnostic value of creative works made by people with an experience of mental illness. At the same time there was also a growing appreciation of the artistic merit of these works by artists and the broader community.

Dr Eric Cunningham Dax was part of this development. In 1946, while superintendent of Netherne Hospital, a progressive psychiatric facility in England, Dr Dax introduced clinical art programs as a treatment component in mainstream psychiatry.

In 1952, he moved to Australia and took up an appointment as Chairman of the Mental Hygiene Authority, Victoria. He developed art programs that guided patients to produce artworks that he considered ‘windows of the mind'.

Dr Dax collected some of these creative works to educate mental health staff. In time, however, he recognised a broader application for the art works, their capacity to educate the public about mental illness. Dr Dax was the Director of the Collection until 1995. He passed away in February 2008 in his one-hundredth year.

The Collection is auspiced by The Mental Health Research Institute (MHRI), an internationally renowned non-profit research institute located in Parkville.

The Professional Life of Dr Eric Cunningham Dax

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