MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release
23 November 2009
1
The Trans-Generational Legacy of the Holocaust
A free public talk presented by the Cunningham Dax Collection
On Thursday 26 November at 6pm at the Cunningham Dax Collection, Dr Paul Valent, Melbourne
psychiatrist and psychotherapist and a world authority on trans-generational trauma, will give a lecture
entitled, ‘Trans-generational trauma: the social phenomenon of the self-help group in dealing with
trauma’.
This lecture forms part of the free public program coinciding with the exhibition, Out of the Dark: the
Emotional Legacy of the Holocaust. This is an exhibition of art by survivors and children of survivors
of the Holocaust highlighting the trans-generational transmission of trauma.
Dr Valent is the author of the book Child Survivors of the Holocaust.
In an essay in the exhibition catalogue, Dr Valent noted that the Holocaust is a universal benchmark of
suffering and trauma for both the original survivors and subsequent generations. In his lecture, Dr
Valent will outline how the trauma of the Holocaust may be transmitted across three generations and
how self-help groups from each generation have emerged.
The lecture will be held against the backdrop of what is a most moving and inspiring exhibition. The
drawings, paintings, textiles and sculptures in the exhibition embody terrible memories, enduring pain
and unspeakable loss. These artworks have come from a place of darkness, yet they also carry
messages of strength, endurance, an opening, a glimpse of light, a movement out of the dark.
The exhibition is a collaboration between the Cunningham Dax Collection and the Jewish Holocaust
Centre, whose curator, Jayne Josem, noted that while the Centre focuses on the history of the events
of the Holocaust, “this art exhibition provides the opportunity to explore the ongoing traumatic effects
of the Holocaust on survivors and the next generation.”
In the exhibition catalogue, Dr Eugen Koh, Director of the Cunningham Dax Collection writes, “a great
deal has been written about the Holocaust and we are familiar with its photographic evidence.” And
yet, “Why is it that the visual depiction of the personal experience of the Holocaust has rarely been
presented to the general public? Is it because written words are much less confronting than visual
expressions of horrific experiences?”
Out of the Dark: the Emotional Legacy of the Holocaust
Until 23 January 2010
The Cunningham Dax Collection
35 Poplar Road, Parkville, 3052
Open 10am – 4pm Wed – Fri, 1 – 5pm Sat & Sun
The Cunningham Dax Collection consists of over 12,000 creative works by people who experience
MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release
23 November 2009
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mental illness and/or psychological trauma. It is the largest such collection in the southern hemisphere
and the third largest in the world. Based in Parkville, the Collection presents an annual program of
exhibitions and has an active touring program with exhibitions traveling regularly through regional
Victoria and interstate.
Established 25 years ago, the Jewish Holocaust Centre is dedicated to the memory of the six million
Jews murdered in the Holocaust between 1933 and 1945. Its core objective is to safeguard human
rights and liberties by fostering respect and understanding in a culturally diverse community. Aside
from providing an internationally recognised education, research and collections facility, the Centre
offers a fully guided Museum experience which includes an eyewitness account by a survivor of the
Holocaust.
For further information, please contact:
Dr Eugen Koh, Director
Tel: (03) 9342 2394, M: 0418 352 835
, E: eugenkoh@bigpond.com
Image credits: Michelle Fox, People I should have known or should have known more, (installation
detail), 2009, mixed media, dimensions variable.
Public Programs
6pm Thursday 26 November,Trans-generational Trauma: the social phenomenon of the
self-help group in dealing with trauma, with Paul Valent, Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist. To be
repeated 2pm Sunday 13 December at the Jewish Holocaust Centre.
1pm Sunday 6 December, Artist Talks: Eva Marks and Rena Hoffman
NEWS 
