Being creative is known to have wonderful effects on mental health, and with the mental health team’s annual art competition now in full swing, there’s never been a better time to pick up your paint brush.
For this year’s Mental Health Week Art Competition, we’re encouraging all past and present consumers, families, carers, and Monash Heath employees to get creative and submit their masterpieces to go in the running for a cash reward.
Artwork can be submitted under several voting categories including Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander, Adult Consumers (18+), Carer, Child and Youth Consumers (0-18) and Monash Health Staff.
Monash Children’s Hospital Art Therapist Lillian Liu has dedicated her career to the use of art to improve mental health, and said the competition was a wonderful way to foster wellness, confidence and self-agency while connecting to others.
“It’s a great opportunity for people to connect and engage with the arts and put forward their expressions and messages in terms of mental health,” she said.
“Art making can help relieve anxiety and stress, and the competition offers a sense of community and belonging.”
Art Therapy, facilitated by a qualified Art Therapist, is the use of art materials to facilitate a creative process to benefit health and wellbeing, while giving people the opportunity to express themselves or connect to their emotions.
“Creative expression can be made with or without words, and Art Therapy is suitable for any age group across the lifespan,” Lillian said.
Art Therapist Lillian Liu loves working in a field where she can help improve our paediatric patients’ mental health through the creative process.
Working within adolescent medicine, oncology and general paediatric wards, Lillian works alongside Art Therapist Fiona Turland and Art Therapy student Anna Venosta to help our unwell young people relieve stress and anxiety through connection and mindfulness.
“Being in the present moment and focusing on the here and now can be a distraction from concerns, and allows a connection to your senses to promote mind-body healing,” she said.
Our patients have access to a wide range of materials within individual sessions and art therapy group sessions, including paint, pencils, clay, textiles and more.
“The beauty about art therapy is we focus more on the process and not the outcome, and there is no right or wrong,” Lillian said.
“People can explore, experiment and play, and being creative supports better mental health.”
The artwork that receives the most votes in each category will be bought by the Mental Health Program for $300, and will be displayed across our Monash Health sites.
There will also be three encouragement awards selected by the Mental Health Complaints Commissioner, the Mental Health Consumer and Family/Carer Advisory Committee and Maxxia, that will also be purchased for $300.
After the successful implementation of a new Artist of the Year award last year, a winner will also be crowned again for 2023 and receive an extra $100 for having the highest number of total votes across any category.
To enter, head to the Consumer and Family/Carer intranet page for further information and to download an application form.
The competition closes on 1 September.
Approved by Paula Hakesley, General Manager, Mental Health