Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service (WBHHS) has partnered with a local artist on a series of mental health projects, to create more welcoming and therapeutic spaces for its consumers and incorporate the voice of lived experience in facility design.
Fraser Coast artist and graphic designer LeeLee West has been engaged to create a unique art mural and visual identities for WBHHS’s crisis support spaces at The Oasis at Hervey Bay Hospital.
She has also illustrated a ‘Welcome’ wall that will greet all visitors to the new Fraser Coast Mental Health Services building, which is set to open its doors at Hervey Bay Hospital later this year.
Robyn Bradley, WBHHS Executive Director of Mental Health and Specialised Services, said the partnership was part of a strategy to ensure the service’s mental health facilities felt more welcoming and reflected what was meaningful to consumers and community members.
LeeLee then hand-picked and arranged their individual elements into large collaborative mural designs that have been turned into ‘building wraps’ designed to invite people in.
“The end result has been something unique and special for everyone involved, and has made a huge difference to the look of the crisis support space and the way we promote them to the community,” Ms Bradley said.
“But it’s about more than aesthetics. To us, the art projects have been a concerted effort to make our services feel warm and welcoming, connected to place, and to encourage people to seek help in a place of comfort and safety when they need it.
LeeLee said the projects had also taught her about the importance of giving a voice to lived experience.
“During a workshop for the Oasis project, a peer worker said something that really resonated with me: ‘Don’t be ashamed of your story – it will inspire others’,” she said.
“It gave me the strength to use my voice, and I was compelled to be honest and authentic about my experiences and why this project was so important to me.
“So don’t be ashamed. There’s always hope. And in the crisis support spaces, the art tells a story of recovery and resilience from many others who’ve reached out and asked for help within our community, too.”
For more information about the crisis support spaces, visit the WBHHS website www.health.qld.gov.au/widebay/html/oasis-crisis-support-space