Please be advised that there are some confronting topics addressed in this article, including the massacre and genocide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
WHAT IS CREATIVE HEALTH
Almost ten years ago now, when the City People team first started working in the field of arts and health, we were struck by exactly how evident and direct is the connection between arts experiences and health: a field now defined as ‘creative health’.
According to the UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG 2023), creative health is defined as creative approaches and activities which benefit our health and wellbeing. In a community or healthcare setting, these approaches can contribute towards preventing ill health, promoting healthy behaviours, management of long-term conditions and treatment.
SWSLHD / Health Infrastructure co-design workshop on Country with local First Nations community in collaboration with Zakpage, Venessa Possum and City People; photo: Curiousworks
BENEFITS OF CREATIVE HEALTH
Creative health improves wellbeing at a community level. It builds social capital, social cohesion and addresses health inequalities by improving the environments in which people live, grow, work and age (APPG 2023).
It can also yield economic benefits by: keeping people healthier for longer; reducing strains on health and social care systems; and supporting the creative industries. In the case of the NHS, it is estimated that 40% of the burden on health services in England may be lifted by preventing the onset of avoidable chronic conditions (Select Committee on the Long-term Sustainability of the NHS 2017).
SWSLHD / Health Infrastructure co-design workshop with culturally and linguistically diverse community members, produced by City People in partnership with Sarah Wang; photo: Curiousworks
ARTS IN HEALTH PROGRAM
Led by NSW Health, the Arts in Health Program is a partnership between Health Infrastructure, local health districts, artists and communities.
In their Health and the Art Framework 2024-2032, NSW Health (2024) highlight the importance of creative health:
The social determinants of health are the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. The arts positively influence improved health promotion, messaging and health literacy, with growing evidence of its impacts in the acute care sector. This is particularly important for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers and carers, and families who have newly arrived to Australia.
‘Journey in Harmony’ by Kevser Ugurlu outside Clean Utility & Medication Room; Liverpool Hospital (SWSLHD / Health Infrastructure), produced by City People in partnership with Sarah Wang; photo: Curiousworks
Led by City People in partnership with Health Infrastructure and South Western Sydney Local Health District, the LHAP Arts in Health Program sought to create a culturally safe environment and improve access to care for First Nations and new migrant communities at Liverpool Hospital.
History demonstrates the complexity of health provision and dominant power structures: Liverpool Hospital was established by the colony’s Governor Macquarie in 1810 – the same figure who, only a few years later, authorised atrocities towards local Aboriginal men, women and children (e.g., Appin massacre of 1816, McBride & Smith 2021). To this day, historical trauma, language and cultural barriers can all present obstacles for marginalised communities attending our hospitals.
As a result of extensive and meaningful co-design processes with First Nations and new migrant communities in South Western Sydney, the LHAP Arts in Health Program artworks in the main entryway and patient areas now offer moments of healing and comfort throughout the hospital – an environment which is often busy, emotionally charged and traumatic.
‘Burbangana’ by Zakpage; Liverpool Hospital (SWSLHD / Health Infrastructure) produced by City People in partnership with Venessa Possum; photo: Curiousworks
‘Hospitals are places full of trauma and it is a place that we should be able to heal,’ local Dharug custodian and artist Leanne Watson Redpath reflects.
‘Part of our healing is telling these stories and the truth about our history and place.’
South Western Sydney Local Health District and Health Infrastructure proudly present the Arts in Health Program, as part of the redevelopment of Liverpool Hospital.
City People pays our respects to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation who are the traditional custodians of the lands, skies and water that we are based on. We extend that respect to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
