Art bombing for better mental health and suicide prevention

Completed
Duration:

October 2021 - December 2022

Funding Amount:

This activity was part of the Melton, Brimbank and Macedon Ranges Place-Based Suicide Prevention Trials

Locations

Melton

Brimbank

Macedon Ranges

Melbourne Macedon Ranges Yarra Moonee Valley Darebin Maribyrnong Hobsons Bay Wyndham Brimbank Moorabool Melton Hume Merri-bek

Overview

Our ‘art bomb’ project will support local artists and community members who have done it tough throughout the coronavirus pandemic by starting conversations about suicide prevention, mental health and wellbeing.

An art bomb is a series of art pieces that are displayed for the public in locations that draw mass attention. For this project, the art bombs will aim to change perceptions of mental health and suicidality.

To deliver on this, NWMPHN is working on this new project with Melton, Brimbank and Macedon City Councils.

NWMPHN is funding and empowering local artists who have lived experience of mental ill health to demonstrate their experience and recovery through art. The art will help to bridge gaps between the broader community and people with lived experience of suicidality and mental ill health.

People will be encouraged to engage with the art through QR codes and online content that explain the art and what it represents. The QR codes will also make it easy for people to support the artists, as well as access information about support services and NWMPHN’s suicide prevention work. Artwork will be displayed across several highly visible locations in the Melton, Brimbank and Macedon local government areas.

This activity was part of the Melton and Brimbank, and Macedon Ranges Place-Based Suicide Prevention Trials.

Outcomes

Artist Manny Sison standing and smiling with two of his artworks.
Brimbank-based artist Manny Sison.

The intended outcomes of this project are:

  • to encourage community participation and create opportunities to change narratives about suicidality and mental illness
  • to provide messages of hope and community resilience in times of uncertainty, and reinforce the importance of accessing support
  • to support and promote local artists
  • to target at-risk communities including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, LGBTIQ+ people, and culturally and linguistically diverse people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxAVUqnPydM
Watch our video to learn more about the art bomb project.

Services involved