Shift nurses just want to feel safe at night. These are the artists trying to help
By Jane Albert
Last December, artist Lauren Brincat ran a makeshift cafe outside the Royal Hospital for Women in Randwick for 24 hours offering free barista-made coffee, tea and her mother’s popular Greek biscuits and spanakopita.
The cafe was open to anyone connected with the four hospitals located in the precinct. All Brincat asked in return was that customers share an anecdote from their day.
Choreographer Charmene Yap, artist Lauren Brincat and sound artist Evelyn Ida Morris with dancers near the Prince of Wales Hospital, ahead of their live performance on Wednesday to honour health workers.Credit: Louise Kennerley
After speaking to hundreds of people, what she learnt was that healthcare workers simply wanted to debrief from their shift. They were grateful that someone was there to listen to and nourish them.
Randwick’s healthcare workforce is made up of 80 per cent women and, despite the area being a 24-hour precinct, many of the night shift nurses told Brincat they couldn’t get a meal or decent coffee after midnight. More importantly, they didn’t feel safe going out late and moving through the campus streets after dark.
The cafe was part of a year-long research project, commissioned by Randwick Health & Innovation Precinct with Transport for NSW’s Safer Cities program, which is investing $30 million over two years to help improve perceptions of safety in our cities and towns, particularly for women, girls and gender diverse people.
The culmination of the research is a site-specific work Brincat has created to engage the local community and create a more communal and safer environment, through art.
Artist Lauren Brincat with dancers and cotton sculptures near the Prince of Wales Hospital, ahead of Wednesday’s performance to honour healthcare workers.Credit: Louise Kennerley
She is a multidisciplinary, collaborative artist who has recently worked with Spanish choreographer Marina Mascarell for the Sydney Dance Company and performance artist Mike Parr at this year’s Adelaide Festival.
Brincat was particularly moved to learn about Code Lavender, an international hospital code adopted recently by Prince of Wales Hospital in which a public announcement alerts healthcare workers to stop and gather together for a brief moment before resuming their shifts.
“A lot of the nurses talked about the importance of wellbeing and how during COVID they hadn’t been able to gather at all,” says Brincat. “I was interested in who cares for the carers, how they were feeling mentally and the pressures they face.”
In addition to the stories and research into the precinct, Brincat joined the many nurses who make up the local community choir, all of it helping inform her work When do I breathe?, created with former Sydney Dance Company dancer-turned-choreographer Charmene Yap, musician Evelyn Ida Morris and the University of NSW choral director Sonia Maddock.
The free outdoor performance on April 24 will begin at sunset outside the University of NSW, led by five dancers and accompanied by 20 members of the community choir, including nurses and seven former students from the nearby National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).
Timed for twilight, at the intersection between the end of a working day and the beginning of a working night, it brings together local communities who are often separated by different shifts and daily rhythms.
Following a short performance choreographed by Yap the group will move through the precinct, carrying a 100-metre handwoven cotton soft sculpture Brincat crafted that includes splashes of the colour lavender. She’s also made lavender neckties and fabric telltales the public will be invited to tie onto the gauze as they walk.
“We’re going to gather the community and walk through the streets of Randwick through song and dance and fabric,” Brincat says.
“I think art makes people stop and think differently, and it’s really important to have that moment for people to question how we walk through society. We need as a community to come together and talk about what’s needed for our carers and how to look after each other at night, so maybe this will help people think about that and hopefully, there might be a change in the system.”
When Do I Breathe? takes place at 5pm on April 24 on the University of NSW’s Scientia Lawn, before moving through the streets of Randwick. A permanent light installation by artist Rochelle Haley will be unveiled in Randwick in June.
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