The Absence of Your Presence

Tūhura Otago Museum is proud to celebrate Mental Health Awareness Week 2023!

We are incredibly lucky to have local artwork on display from Honours student Amelia Dougherty.

Amelia is currently in the Honours programme at the Dunedin School of Art. Her artwork is inspired by a patient chair found on the side of the road from Seacliff Lunatic Asylum, a former psychiatric hospital located north of Dunedin. In 1973, Seacliff officially closed and the buildings and grounds were abandoned.

"The chair, once a vessel of support, now stands alone, weathered and worn, and represents people with poor mental health", Amelia says. You will be able to view the chair alongside her artwork.

This artwork also supports a free talk from Barbara Brookes – Caring for the Mentally Ill: Insights from History.

10am – 5pm, Sunday 24 September
Hutton Theatre
Free – Koha appreciated