The Dax Centre

The Dax Centre Understanding mental illness through art We use the Collection to raise community awareness about mental illness.

The Dax Centre houses the Cunningham Dax Collection - a collection of over 16,000 works created by people with experience of mental illness or trauma. The Dax Centre not only exhibits the artworks, but offers a range of innovative programs for children, young adults, professionals and the community. These are designed to educate, build empathy and understanding, and reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. The reduction of stigma dismantles the obstacles to people seeking help.

"I went on a weekend camp run by young people for young people. They talked together about very difficult things and the...
07/10/2025

"I went on a weekend camp run by young people for young people. They talked together about very difficult things and the joy they found together was infectious."

Artwork in image: Unforgotten, 2025, Paul Rhodes, 30 x 40cm, mixed media, artist credit for image.

🖼️ Ever wondered what therapy might look like through an artist’s eyes?
Come explore Troubled /& beyond. by Paul Rhodes, now showing at The Dax Centre. And every artwork is available to purchase!

Paul is both a practicing therapist and an artist, and his work offers a deeply personal glimpse into the emotional journey of healing. It’s honest, reflective, and invites you to connect with the human experience in an evocative way.

Paul is kindly donating 30% of all sales to support The Dax Centre’s mission: using art to raise awareness and reduce stigma around mental health.

Buying a piece means you're helping us keep important conversations going and continue programs that make a real impact.

🗓️ Troubled /& beyond. is on until 31 October at The Dax Centre. Visit us in person or explore and buy online via the Linktree in our bio.

"This pictures me in the city, with the words love and shadow on my face. If any love is possible its because we are awa...
30/09/2025

"This pictures me in the city, with the words love and shadow on my face. If any love is possible its because we are aware of our shadows."

Artwork in image: Self portrait as a therapist, 2025, Paul Rhodes, 120 x 80cm, mixed media, artist credit for image.

Troubled /& beyond. by Paul Rhodes is now exhibiting at The Dax Centre, and every piece is available to purchase!

Paul is both a practicing therapist and a talented artist. His latest collection offers a raw, compelling exploration of the therapeutic journey, inviting viewers to engage with themes of healing, vulnerability, and the shared human experience.

In a generous gesture, Paul is donating 30% of all artwork sales to support The Dax Centre’s mission: harnessing the power of art to raise awareness and reduce stigma around mental health.

By purchasing a work, you’re not only investing in meaningful art - you’re helping us continue important conversations and programs that make a real difference.

🗓️ Troubled /& beyond. is on until 31 October at The Dax Centre. Visit us in person or explore and buy online via the Linktree in our bio.

An upcoming change for The Dax Centre!⁠Starting this week, the gallery will be open Wednesdays – Fridays, 11am – 3.30pm....
29/09/2025

An upcoming change for The Dax Centre!⁠

Starting this week, the gallery will be open Wednesdays – Fridays, 11am – 3.30pm.

We will no longer be open on Tuesdays but stay tuned for exciting news about extended opening days in 2026!

Mental Health Week is almost here!A few final spots remain for guided group tours as part of Mental Health Week coming u...
28/09/2025

Mental Health Week is almost here!

A few final spots remain for guided group tours as part of Mental Health Week coming up October 4-12.

We offer 1 or 2 hour engaging, interactive, creative guided group tours for corporate and community groups.

To find out more and to book click 'Guided Group Tours' in the link in our bio

Image: Installation view of Transmutation: The Body as a Vessel, The lens of evolution, 2022, perspex, mirror and acrylic paint, dimensions variable (installation) by Weniki Hensch, as part of the Adopted exhibition at Dax

This week's collection highlight is an emotive acrylic on artists' board work by Carla Krijt ✨️⁠Carla began making art ...
25/09/2025

This week's collection highlight is an emotive acrylic on artists' board work by Carla Krijt ✨️⁠

Carla began making art after a diagnosis of schizophrenia and mania, and described art as ‘having helped her at worst times of mental illness.’
She created many of her paintings and drawings as recollections of dreams she was experiencing. She described these dreams as often ’being taken over by grandiose images, ideas and voices’. These works were then a focus for her in trying to understand the meaning of the various symbols she identified in the images.
Carla often referred to these as 'ingredients', and stated the importance to her of ‘trying to understand the ingredients and their meaning to understand the story/dreams of her congested mind.’
Art helped Carla ‘to find structure through the chaos by turning to art when she feels lost...to mediate, relax and get clarity’.

To see more of Krijt's artworks, head to the 'Explore the Collection' link in our bio!⁠

Image credit: Carla Krijt, Thorns, 1987, 45 x 35cm, acrylic on artists’ board, 2003.3738

Mental health week is coming up - October 4-12!Are you looking for a unique, creative wellbeing activity for your group ...
21/09/2025

Mental health week is coming up - October 4-12!

Are you looking for a unique, creative wellbeing activity for your group as part of your mental health week activities? We've got you covered!

We offer 1 or 2 hour engaging, interactive, creative guided tours for corporate and community groups. The tours are able to be tailored to suit your needs and can include facilitated creative mindfulness activities or a presentation and discussion with a trained mental health Advocate sharing their personal mental health lived experience story⁠⁠.

Bookings are filling up fast! For more info and to book click 'Guided Group Tours' in the link in our bio

Image: Installation view of Dax exhibition 'A Subtle Omen’ by France Cannon

Just a reminder - our Repeat Pattern Design Workshop with Karen Yvette Clarke is coming up next week! ✨⁠⁠📅 Friday 26 Jul...
14/07/2025

Just a reminder - our Repeat Pattern Design Workshop with Karen Yvette Clarke is coming up next week! ✨⁠
⁠
📅 Friday 26 July, 1-3pm
📍 The Dax Centre, Parkville
🎟️ $25 + booking fee (supports artists with lived experience of mental illness)⁠
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Step away from the screen and into a relaxed, phone-free creative space where you’ll:
🖍️ Make your own hand-drawn motifs
🔁 Learn how to turn them into repeat patterns
⁠
No experience needed. All materials provided
⁠
Tickets are nearly gone – don’t miss your chance to slow down, make art, and connect IRL.
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🎟️ Book now via the link in bio!⁠
⁠

Led by visual artist Karen Yvette Clark, the Repeat Pattern Design Workshop is an interactive, hands-on creative session...
07/07/2025

Led by visual artist Karen Yvette Clark, the Repeat Pattern Design Workshop is an interactive, hands-on creative session that invites participants to explore pattern making through playful mark-making and digital design
⁠
🗓️ 26 July, 1–3pm
📍 The Dax Centre, Parkville⁠
🎟️ $25 + booking fee (all proceeds support artists with lived experience of mental illness)⁠
⁠
Join us for a hands-on session where you'll:⁠
🖍️ Create hand-drawn motifs⁠
🔁 Turn your drawings into repeat digital patterns⁠
🥤 Enjoy drinks, great convo, and a welcoming, inclusive space⁠
⁠
Part of the Re/Connect exhibition and Analog Art Club, this phone-free event is about slowing down, getting creative, and connecting IRL. No experience needed - just bring your curiosity!⁠
⁠
Limited spots available - link in bio to book!⁠
⁠

07/07/2025

With so many wonderful events and programs running throughout, it can be hard to know where to start when it comes to celebrating NAIDOC week. Bigger crowds or louder events aren’t for everyone, so we sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed and let the week pass without engaging in any activites that support First Nations people. However, it’s important to find your own way to celebrate!

At The Dax Centre, you can celebrate First Nations artists in your community by supporting proud Murri woman Laiken Jackson’s Mindful Movement workshop.

In this wellbeing workshop, Laiken will share the importance of mindfulness tools in her own practice, especially in feeling grounded and connected to self, spirit, culture and Country.

This workshop will focus on breathwork, meditation and gentle movement, and presents an opportunity to engage meaningfully with the work of a First Nations artist this NAIDOC week.

This event is also part of Analog Art Club is a statewide initiative that invites Victorians to slow down, switch off their screens and connect in real life - through art. Hosted by galleries across Victoria, these phone-free events offer a welcoming space to reflect, discuss and experience art together, making creativity social, accessible and refreshingly analog.

Tickets are $20 - available via the link in our bio. Proceeds from ticket sales go towards the artist. Free for First Nations participants.

Artwork Spotlight ✨ Presenting ‘Where My Miwi is Strong #1 and #2’ by Tupun Wultatinyeri, exhibited as a part of Inter...
03/07/2025

Artwork Spotlight ✨

Presenting ‘Where My Miwi is Strong #1 and #2’ by Tupun Wultatinyeri, exhibited as a part of Internal Landscapes.

Wultatinyeri shares, “The Ngarrindjeri concept of miwi, being your spirit, is believed to be your liver and entrails. With the liver also considered to be the seat of your emotions. The practice of strengthening this was to sit or lay and focus thought on this area of your body. For me, in my adopted home town of Mildura, I had a place I went often to strengthen my miwi. In King’s Billabong, a place I sat often was Duck’s Foot Lagoon. Here I have depicted the body of water as my liver, my miwi, my spirit. This is one place it always grew strong. In these paintings, just near the Billabong itself, sits a remnant of another Billabong that fills and drains often, with the river levels. This spot was special, as at the tip of the inlet, the sun would set directly across the bend towards it’s lower flood plain. I spent many nights sitting here. I have depicted the inlet of this body of water as my miwi.”

Tupun Wultatinyeri is represented by The Torch, a not for profit First Nations-led organisation that provides art, cultural, and arts industry support to First Nations people who have lived experience of incarceration in Victoria. The core business of The Torch is to address over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within Victoria’s legal system through its Statewide Indigenous Arts in Prisons and Community Program.

All of the Internal Landscapes artworks are for sale, with 100% of proceeds going to the artist. Please go to the link in our bio to explore purchasing Wultatinyeri’s works on The Torch website.


Join us for Mindful Movement with Laiken Jackson. A calming workshop of meditation, stretching & dance led by artist Lai...
25/06/2025

Join us for Mindful Movement with Laiken Jackson. A calming workshop of meditation, stretching & dance led by artist Laiken Jackson as part of our NAIDOC Week celebrations 🖤💛❤️

This is an opportunity to reset, relax and prioritise self-care, all surrounded by the beautiful artworks of the Internal Landscapes exhibition

Support emerging First Nations artists, connect with self and spirit, and unwind in the heart of Internal Landscapes at The Dax Centre

📅 Sat July 12 | 1–2PM
📍30 Royal Parade, Parkville
🎟️ $20 / Free for First Nations people

Address

30 Royal Parade
Melbourne, VIC
3052

Opening Hours

Wednesday 11am - 3:30pm
Thursday 11am - 3:30pm
Friday 11am - 3:30pm

Telephone

+619349 2538

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Our Story

The Dax Centre is a leader in the use of art to raise awareness and reduce stigma towards mental illness. Through our exhibitions and educational programs we seek to engage, inform and encourage community connections and conversations about mental health.

Image: Elizabeth Turnbull, My Ancestors & Me, 2010, acrylic on paper, Cunningham Dax Collection