Arts in health initiatives aim to enhance patient, visitor, staff and carer experiences, while promoting cultural safety and connections to health.
The arts and culture program for the new Griffith Base Hospital is about much more than just deciding what will hang on the walls; it aims to leave a positive lasting cultural legacy for the community and create a significant opportunity to celebrate the creative talent of the region. The program is led by the Redevelopment's Arts Working Group which includes community and staff representatives.
Local artists have been selected to create artworks which will be featured in the new $250 million Griffith Base Hospital, celebrating the region’s diverse multicultural and Aboriginal community. The artists who have been selected will create artworks which will not only showcase our local talent but will give the new hospital a unique and distinctive identity.
Aboriginal artist Elijah Ingram, a proud Wiradjuri man, and multicultural Riverina based artist Greg Carosi, will collaborate to create a colourful artwork within the Emergency Department arrival area. This artwork which will combine the rich legacies of Aboriginal people and the influence of multicultural communities that make Griffith unique. It will create a vibrant, welcoming, and culturally safe environment for all for patients, visitors and staff. Griffith based Aboriginal artist Carolyn Williams, has been selected for a second major public art commission, to be located on glass window panels between the community courtyard and community lounge at the front of the hospital. The artwork will help provide privacy, beauty and share cultural knowledge for visitors within a new lounge area, providing a calm space they can use while family or friends are receiving treatment and care. The arts and culture program for the new $250 million Griffith Base Hospital aims to cultivate and support a positive lasting cultural legacy for the community and creates a significant opportunity to celebrate the creative talent of the region. The third commission, for an external sculpture in the hospital’s forecourt, has progressed to concept design stage and the successful artist will be announced in the coming months. The Arts in Health Program is being delivered as part of the Griffith Base Hospital redevelopment, in partnership with Murrumbidgee Local Health District, artists, and communities. Construction is continuing for the redevelopment which is scheduled for completion in 2025.
Check out this case study from the recent Macksville Hospital to find out how powerful arts in health can be.
Listen to Brigette Uren on ABC Riverina, interviewed about the announcement of artists for major art commissions, and the benefits of arts in health. June 2023.