Recovering Art

The Cunningham Dax Collection holds one of the world's most significant collections of art made in the context of mental illness and psychological trauma, with its earliest works created within the nascent art programs in psychiatric institutions. Recovering Art takes the earliest moments of the collection's formation as its starting point and looks at the different ways of understanding the relationship between art and mental health, from the era of institutionalisation to now. The exhibition brings together over 40 works including early archival material and collection works from the Cunningham Dax Collection, set beside new and recent works by leading contemporary artists from Australia and New Zealand to consider the ways art can play a role in one's life, navigating the reality of mental illness and disability.