dax collection

Yesterday I went to see the Dax Collection with my "Minds and Madness" class. The Dax Collection is a collection of art created by people with an experience of mental illness and/or psychological trauma. The mission statement of the Cunningham Dax Collection reads: "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."

I thought the place was very cool (the place itself, and the concept of its existence) so I just wanted to share it with you.

For starters, here is a little history just cut and pasted from the website: "In 1946, while the Medical Superintendent of Netherne Hospital, a modern psychiatric hospital in England, Dr. Dax invited the professional artist Edward Adamson to supervise the art programs he developed for his patients. This quiet beginning is now recognized as the first formal introduction of art programs into mainstream psychiatric treatment. In 1952, Dr Dax was invited to be the Chairman of the new Mental Health Authority of Victoria and for the next 20 years he initiated a series of important reforms of mental health services. These included the moving of psychiatric treatment from asylums to community settings and the introduction of art programs for patients. However, Dr Dax found that once his patients returned to the community they encountered discrimination and often outright rejection. He believed that such responses were usually a result of fear arising from ignorance and decided to use the artworks of his patients to try and educate the general community about mental illness."

The exhibition is split into two galleries. One gallery consists of works done in the context of clinical programs between the 1940s and 1970s. This art, we were told, was done in a context where the creators were told specifically *not* to design an artwork for the purpose of display or showcasing, but simply to create a piece that expressed whatever was on their mind: their thoughts and feelings. This art was used both as therapy and for assessment. Our guide likened these creative works to x-rays of the mind. Not the brain, which you can x-ray, but the mind, which you cannot. The names of these artists are withheld for several reasons. Firstly, many are not known. When deinstitutionalization occurred mental health records were saved but many of these works, previously kept in patients files, were discarded (and subsequently rescued by Dax). Secondly, since these works were not created for display and were created in the context of clinical programs they are given the status of health records, and thus the names of the creators must be kept confidential. And thirdly, most of these individuals are not aware that their works are on display. (Most frequently because the artists’ identities are not known). Our guide discussed that displaying these pieces without the artists’ permission is sometimes contested, but argued that there was not even informed consent at the time that they were patients and thus "many worse things were done to them." An interesting argument worthy of thought. The second gallery is art created by individuals outside the clinical context. More of these artists are trained in their skills, and all of them have consented to having their work displayed or donated it to the collection themselves. I heard many people comment that the art in this room was "better." It is certainly of a more professional nature (and is displayed that way as well— more like an art gallery in its presentation and inclusion of artist bios) but I am quite unconvinced that this makes it "better." Perhaps more aesthetically pleasing, but certainly no more interesting.