Located at Campbelltown Hospital
Campbelltown Hospital, Health Infrastructure and Campbelltown Arts Centre collaborated on an ambitious Arts Health Project that placed community, culture and creativity at the heart of the second stage redevelopment of Campbelltown Hospital.
The project was delivered in line with South Western Sydney Health and Arts Strategic Plan 2018-2023 and under the guidance of cultural mentors Aunty Glenda Chalker, Aunty Jenny Shillingsworth, Uncle Ivan Wellington and Uncle Eddy Burge. Aunty Diedre also provided guided walks on Country and planting knowledge.
Led by Campbelltown Arts Centre, this unique cross-disciplinary project saw two artists, Dr Erica Seccombe and Nicole Monks, collaborating directly with architects, designers and the First Nations and broader community with the aim to integrate innovative approaches to public art, art collections and art therapy within the hospitals design.
‘What Should a Hospital Feel Like?’ by Erica Seccombe:
Beginning with the lead question ‘what should a hospital feel like?’, combined with her growing evidence that incorporating nature (real or artificial) into a hospital environment enhances the healing process, artist Dr Erica Seccombe worked with architects Billard Leece Partnership on the integration of endemic medicinal flora and fauna drawings into the hospital’s wayfinding, including 300 square meters of illustrated vinyl on each floor and a 80-metre artwork on Hospital Street.
Winner of the 2023 European Healthcare Design Awards in two categories: Mental Health Design and Interior Design and the Arts.
‘How Should Our Spaces Connect Us to Culture?’ by Nicole Monks:
Nicole Monks, an artist of Yamaji Wajarri, Dutch, and English heritage, collaborated closely with local knowledge holders and the Aboriginal Community to embed multi-dimensional narratives centered on Dharawal culture. This engagement included workshops at Campbelltown Arts Centre, where models and mark-making created by children and Elders were integrated into the fabric of the hospital.
Key elements include:
– A Dharawal Welcome Stone: a sensory stone featuring handprints of the four cultural mentors.
– The Lyrebird Dharawal Totem: feather drawings and two colossal, suspended feather sculptures (7m & 4m high) at the hospital entrances.
– A Healing Circle: an outdoor space surrounded by native plants, further enhancing the connection between culture, community, and place.
Commissioned by CampbelltownHospitalin partnership with Campbelltown Arts Centre, South Western Sydney Local Health District, and Western Sydney University Graduate Research School 2019 – 2023. With contributions from Create NSW, Western Sydney Strategic Partnerships. Special thanks to the workshop participants.