West Sussex Record Office and Outside In awarded grant
14th Aug 2018
West Sussex Record Office and Outside In have been awarded a grant from the Wellcome Trust of £46,023 to preserve a unique art therapy archive. It is hoped the project will offer a rare insight into the use of art therapy as a form of treatment.
The Vawdrey Archive comprises approximately 194 paintings produced by patients in art therapy sessions run by Dr Brian Vawdrey between 1951 to 1971 and a copy of Vawdrey’s illustrated thesis, ‘Art in Analysis’. The archive is an unusual record of early art therapy work which provides an important insight into the therapeutic process and has the potential to offer a unique perspective on the development of art therapy as a discipline.
This funding will enable the Record Office, in partnership with Outside In, to catalogue, preserve, and digitise this archive, eventually making the catalogue and digitised images available online.
A series of consultation sessions involving Outside In artists who have had lived experience of mental health issues will enhance and enrich the catalogue – a new and innovative way of approaching medical and hospital archives.
Image: Dr Vawdrey speaking at a public event, courtesy his family.