Footscray Community Arts named official arts partner for the new Footscray Hospital

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Footscray Community Arts is pleased to be named as the official arts partner of the New Footscray Hospital Project to help improve the health and wellbeing of patients, staff and visitors.

The Plenary Health consortium today announced the three-year partnership, which aligns with the construction of Victoria’s most significant health infrastructure investment to date. As the official arts partner for the Project, Footscray Community Arts will commission artists to create a welcoming space for all.

Footscray Community Arts Artistic Director, Daniel Santangeli, said the organisation is honoured to partner with the New Footscray Hospital Project.  

“As one of Australia’s leading community arts centres, we are excited to play such an important role in connecting the community to art and creativity through this vital health infrastructure investment,” he said. 

“We’re looking forward to involving the community in the process and bringing together local artists and their work to help create inclusive, safe and sustainable spaces within the new hospital.”  

Public art has been considered as part of the overall hospital design approach to help deliver an improvement in health and wellness. The design includes standalone works and immersive art forms in external and internal spaces. 

Plenary Health New Footscray Hospital Project Chair, Kelvyn Lavelle, said the vision is to deliver a hospital in and of its community.  

“We’re excited to come together with Footscray Community Arts to strengthen the new hospital’s connection with community and create positive experiences and spaces for patients, staff and visitors,” Mr Lavelle said.  

“Footscray Community Arts is an important part of the cultural fabric in the west and with their 50-year legacy, they are the perfect arts partner for the new hospital.  

“The new hospital will be instrumental in the social, economic and cultural evolution of Footscray and most importantly deliver world-class health care to the western suburbs.” 

The new partnership is already working on a ‘Faces of Footscray’ community photography series that will utilise the site’s expansive hoarding.

Located on the Maribyrnong River, Footscray Community Arts was established by the local community in 1974 and is one of the country’s longest running independent arts precincts. Footscray Community Arts work with a range of local artists in the west and prioritise the voices of artists from indigenous, migrant and refugee, disability and LGBTQIA+ communities. 

The new Footscray Hospital, on the corner of Ballarat and Geelong Roads, is set to open in 2025. It is being delivered by the Plenary Health consortium, in partnership with the Victorian Health Building Authority and Western Health.