The National Aboriginal Design Agency was engaged by Health Infrastructure NSW to instigate a creative collaboration with the local First Nations community in Goulburn. Led by young people, adults and Elders, NADA supported the creation of artwork and designs for the redevelopment of Goulburn Hospital.
Central to this project were First Nations community engagement meetings where key decisions were made collaboratively regarding culturally appropriate concepts and locations for the artworks.
NADA coordinated the involvement of local students in creating unique designs for two major artworks; one for the internal staircase of the building and a second for the external stair. This was achieved through consultation with local Elders, Pejar Local Aboriginal Land Council, Mulwaree Aboriginal Organisation, Southern Tablelands Arts and key community stakeholders.
Local Aboriginal artists, teachers and community health workers led workshops with students from Trinity Catholic College, Goulburn, Mulwaree and Crookwell High Schools. Together, they developed artworks which recognises the Goulburn-Mulwaree culture, its people and communities. The area is a traditional meeting place and the artwork reflects the importance of the Wollondilly, Mulwaree, Shoalhaven and Lachlan rivers to community.
The first artwork (internal stair) is a collaborative piece made up of elements from artworks by Chloe Mitchell,
Martika Walker, Haylie Parker, Lachlan Polley, Kiara Storrier, Brock Chudleigh, Tahnee Lee Della, Cody Tate and
Maea Rose.
The second artwork (external stair) was developed using a repeated motif taken from Brock Chudleigh’s artwork. The repeated pattern was cut into corten steel for the external staircase and was licensed by Health Infrastructure for development in other areas throughout the new hospital precinct.
“My artwork illustrates a river between Aboriginal people and the animals, and how they moved to let the land recover and not overuse it, as they knew it meant so much to us and deserved respect,” Chudleigh said.
“Seeing my artwork come to life has also given me more motivation to continue my artwork and strive to learn more about my culture.”
Also in development is an artwork for the main entry wall – a collaborative artwork facilitated by Monica Bridge with local Elders representing significant places in the Goulburn area.