Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) is establishing Medicare Mental Health Kids Hub at 60-62 McNamara Street, Orange.  

The new space will provide a hub for mental health wellbeing to support children up to the age of 12 and their families. Arts OutWest has been approached to manage an onsite collaborative visual arts project funded by WNSWLHD. 

Arts OutWest is working with local artists and schools, in consultation with Aboriginal Elders, to develop a unified artistic concept using Robertson Park as a theme and prompt. Art outcomes will be used to link spaces and the flow of people and movement through the newly occupied premises. The aim of the project is to create a culturally appropriate, welcoming and safe environment for young people up to the age of 12. 

Arts OutWest’s Arts & Health coordinator Steven Cavanagh is working with selected creatives to deliver a series of artworks, installed throughout the internal spaces of the building. Wall decals and a mural artwork are being designed and placed to generate a sense of hope and change. 

In August 2025, Steven ran a series of guided workshops with Glenroi Heights Public School to create artworks that will be translated into decals for the new consultation rooms. Children up to age 12 were invited to participate and make drawings that reflected their experience of ‘a day in the park’.  

Arts OutWest has also engaged a local Aboriginal artist to work alongside community. Through a series of consultations and workshops, a culturally appropriate large mural will be designed and painted just inside the entry doors. 

Arts and Health is a key priority area of Arts OutWest. In our 2025-2028 strategic plan we aim to: 

• Work with young people. 

• Work in hospitals and health services to create transformative experiences through the arts. 

• Work in partnership with the health and disability sector and various allied health services. 

The Medicare Mental Health Kids Hub art project is engaging the arts to achieve positive health outcomes. We want to provide clients, caregivers and medical personnel with arts experiences as a means of supporting and distracting them from stress, pain and anxiety. Using art to build or reinforce social networks among clients, families and caregivers within the healthcare environment. 

Arts OutWest has an MOU and a long-term partnership with Western NSW Local Health District. Artists and schools engaged for this project have been selected in consultation with WNSWLHD.