Breaking the Silence on Abuse Through Creative Writing. And Boxing! – Melbourne Doco Screening

By Eliza Murley (she/her), Gallery Manager at The Dax Centre

Content warning: abuse, child sexual abuse, lived experience of mental illness and psychological trauma.

Coming up on 1st of March, The Dax Centre, is holding a screening of the ground-breaking documentary Left Write Hook.

The Dax Centre is a non-profit art space based in Melbourne that uplifts artists with lived experience of mental illness or psychological trauma.

The documentary was made following the immense success of a unique recovery program developed at The University of Melbourne by Donna Lyon, called Left Write Hook. The program is a research-informed 8-week boxing and writing workshop for adult survivors of child sexual abuse and complex trauma. The flagship program is designed to empower survivors to take back their power through the expressive process of creative writing and the physical release of trauma-informed non-contact boxing.

The Dax Centre are screening the documentary in line with the She Who Persists exhibition. The exhibition presents over 70 years of artworks by women with lived experience of mental illness or psychological trauma from the Cunningham Dax Collection. As a gallery, we felt that the message of the documentary aligned perfectly with the story we are telling in the exhibition of women’s strength in times of adversity and the importance of creative expression to mental wellbeing.

In addition to the screening, The Dax Centre and Left Write Hook are collaborating to present a panel discussion after the screening, featuring Donna Lyon (Left Write Hook Program creator and Producer), Shannon Owen (Film Director), and two program participants. The panel will be mediated by women’s health specialist, Dr Anita Moss. We are hoping to stimulate conversations about the importance of exercise, socialisation, and creativity in trauma recovery. In addition to professional mental health treatments, these can form avenues for survivors to feel supported and connected within the community.

In hosting a screening at The Dax Centre, we are hoping to create a safe space to celebrate women’s spirit of perseverance and ignite important discussions about routes to recovery and how we can support survivors as a community.

In Donna’s words, ‘We know that trauma recovery, healing and personal growth is a life-long journey and looks different for everyone. We also know how transformative it is to do this surrounded by supportive people sharing the same experience. I created Left Write Hook to empower other survivors to thrive into the future; by reclaiming themselves and their bodies, and having an opportunity to rewrite their stories. Our program can be a powerful personal experience of reconnecting and reclaiming through physical movement and expression of voice.’

All proceeds from Left Write Hook Screening ticket sales at The Dax Centre go towards supporting people with lived experience of mental health conditions.

It is important to note that Left Write Hook is not intended to be a substitute for therapy or professional mental health support. The program is best as one-part of your wellbeing support.

The screening will be held at The Dax Centre auditorium, on Saturday 1 March, 2025 at 3PM. The She Who Persists exhibition is open to the public Tues-Fri, 11am – 3.30pm at The Dax Centre.

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