Photo by Nancy Trieu

Arts and Health Project

Campbelltown Hospital, Health Infrastructure and Campbelltown Arts Centre are collaborating on an ambitious Arts Health Project that will place community, culture and creativity at the heart of the second stage redevelopment of Campbelltown Hospital. Led by Campbelltown Arts Centre, this unique cross-disciplinary project sees artists working directly with architects, designers and community bring new ideas that will inform the design of the new hospital.

The aim of the collaboration is to create new ways of working within the health sector, moving away from traditional notions of art and health and towards innovative ways of considering, creating and interacting with creativity beyond the usual standard of public art, art collections and art therapy. Two artists have been commissioned to date on the project including:

Erica Seccombe has found growing evidence through academic empirical studies that by incorporating nature into a hospital environment, these places of reflection or interaction, can enhance the healing process. Working collaboratively with a range of community and health interest groups and stakeholders, Erica will develop a series of responses which consider ideas of intervention and create experiences of nature to support a feeling of well-being throughout the hospital. As part of her creative process, in August 2019, Erica facilitated a Drawing from Nature workshop at Campbelltown Arts Centre inviting locals to explore the relationship between the cultural and environmental landscapes of Campbelltown.

Nicole Monks, an artist of Yamaji Wajarri, Dutch and English heritage, is working with the local Aboriginal community to develop creative outcomes within the built environment of Campbelltown Hospital. Nicole is being mentored by local Aboriginal elders and working collaboratively with the local Aboriginal community to ensure cultural protocols and practices are followed. Embedding Culture workshops led by artist Nicole Monks and assisted by Danielle Mate-Sullivan and Aunty Jenny Shillingsworth were held in September 2019, as part of a creative consultation process to articulate ways to embed Dharawal culture into the new hospital. The outcomes of this deep engagement will result in the presentation of multi-dimensional narratives centering on Dharawal culture.