Ramsay Newsroom

Lived Experience Consultant Maria Bradshaw said the idea to formally bring artwork to the clinic was inspired by an existing appreciation and engagement with art at Wren.

“We have art therapy groups and one-on-one artist sessions, and participants often decorate their rooms and communal spaces with their own work,” Ms Bradshaw said.

“So bringing them into the mural process was inevitable. It came from them.”

Together with artist Beci Orpin, Wren’s Co-Design team – made up of people with lived and living experience of mental health treatment and care – devised a theme for the series of works.

“We started by looking at the colours already used in the building, the themes of women’s safety and mental health, and how we could encourage those ideas in the space,” Ms Orpin said.

“We wanted themes that encouraged safety and recovery, and that’s how we landed on the ‘Garden of Recovery’.”

Participants at Wren were then invited to take part in a ‘drop in’ artmaking workshop, where they created collage works and images out of paper. The images were then used as references by Beci in creating the final mural pieces.

Ramsay Clinic Albert Road CEO, Petra Glare, said the new artworks have already made a meaningful difference in how people feel when they move through the space.

“Wren is a place where people come to feel seen, safe and supported, and this artwork is another expression of that care. It brings colour, calm and moments of joy into the everyday. It is a visual reminder of hope and recovery created with the people who use this service. It is a beautiful addition to the building and a powerful reflection of the spirit of Wren.”

Wren, a specialised women’s mental health service for women, is a partnership between Alfred Health, Ramsay Health Care and Goulburn Valley Health.