St Vincent's Healing Arts to transform Emergency Department
St Vincent's Healing Arts to transform Emergency Department
13 Dec 2023
St Vincent’s Healing Arts program have partnered with Boomalli Aboriginal Artist Cooperative on a project to transform our Emergency waiting room. Together, they were awarded $10,000 to support the project at the 2023 NSW Health Infrastructure IMAGinE Awards - designed to “highlight the resilience, innovation and creativity of museums, galleries and Aboriginal cultural spaces and recognise the people who work in them”.
Together they will manage a first-stage creative, artist-led, community consultation process to explore potential aesthetic interventions to be incorporated into the patient waiting room, facilitating a welcoming, calming environment for people and their carers who have presented to Emergency.
“We're thrilled to be working with Boomalli artist, Wanita Lowe to undertake consultations with the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to gain advice on ways we can create safe, welcoming, culturally respectful environments”, says Allice McAuliffe, St Vincent’s Arts Health Manager.
The project will commence in early 2024, with a series of creative workshops in which the artist will work with staff, community and Elders to build ideas and imagery for the new emergency waiting room.
In addition, by consulting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community before the new ED building work begins, ensures the team can embed elements into the proposed architecture, increasing the safety of the works, and our staff.
At the end of the consultation process, artist Wanita Lowe will create a visual representation of the workshop’s outcomes.
“Utilising engaging, meaningful imagery in our environments can ease and distract patients from the anxiety and discomfort they may be experiencing in our frontline locations”, Alice said.
Left - right: Susi Muddiman OAM (Deputy Chair M&G NSW), Alice McAuliffe (Arts Health Manager SVHS),
Laura Jones (Gallery Manager Boomalli Aboriginal Artist Cooperative), Leisa Rathborne (A/Executive Director Assurance & Advisory, NSW Health Infrastructure)