One of the artists behind the 1983 establishment of the Design and Artists' Copyright Society was Elaine Kowalsky. The organisation has worked for the best part of 25 years to provide adequate copyright protection for artists and safe guard their rights to the end of their careers.

In memory of the woman who strove so hard to give back to the artistic community as much as she felt she had gained, the DACS opened the gallery in her name. Since its opening in 2006 it has been used to promote the works of lesser known artists and the services of the organisation.