CALLING ALL ARTISTS AND
CREATIVE TEAMS
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We welcome artists and/or creative teams to help shape key patient areas in our new hospital buildings.

As part of the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network redevelopment projects at Randwick and Westmead, a series of new creative commissions will integrate arts, play and discovery experiences into the new hospital facilities, helping to create a welcoming and healing environment for patients and their families.

Expressions of Interest (EOIs) are now open to creatives to help transform hospital spaces through the delivery of three multi-disciplinary arts commissions, specifically to support young patients receiving acute hospital treatment.

These three creative commissions will feature in key patient areas of the new buildings, with the primary aim of helping to calm and distract young patients and enhance their wellbeing during their health care journey:

  • Interactive Virtual Windows – development of a creative and playful interactive virtual experience for Acute Procedure Rooms where patients often undergo more intense and painful procedures, resulting in high anxiety and stress.
  • Procedure Room Soundscapes – development of a series of soundscapes for use in Procedure Rooms to help reduce anxiety and stress of both patients and clinicians through sounds that counter the clinical setting and celebrate the natural environment.
  • Healing Ceilings – development of visually inspiring and engaging ceiling artwork designs for patient travel paths, operating theatres and treatment/procedure rooms to support patients undergoing extended treatment or prolonged recovery times, often with restricted mobility.

Artists and creative teams who’d like to be part of these transformative projects that will deliver state-of-the-art paediatric healthcare and research to transform the future of children’s health are encouraged to apply.

EOIs are now open and will close at 11.59pm Sunday 28 January 2024.

LEARN MORE & SUBMIT YOUR EOI HERE.

About Arts, Play and Discovery at Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network
The experience of care at the new Sydney Children’s Hospital Stage 1 and Minderoo Children’s Comprehensive Cancer Centre (SCH1/MCCCC) and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead Stage 2 redevelopments will be integrated with healthy childhood development and learning through sensory, physical and emotional characteristics of creative play – either self-directed and unstructured, in groups or in one-to-one therapeutic contexts.

The role of creative teams is important to shape this new model of care through arts, play and discovery experiences, from point of physical arrival to the campus, and through patient journeys, promoting cultural safety, empowering patient participation and, in context of these commissions, seeks to improve first time success of harmful procedures – for patients, their carers and hospital staff.

The link between art and health outcomes around the world is well documented. Hospitals internationally and across Australia recognise the importance of neuroaesthetics for healing and wellbeing.

A dedicated arts program for the redevelopment projects are being developed with the valuable input of young people and led by the redevelopment teams’ Arts, Play and Discovery Working Group members, which include community, precinct stakeholders and staff representatives. The working groups are helping to ensure the new buildings offer a range of unique creative components that engage and inspire all who enter the hospitals.