Starlight Express Room/Boylan Ward Arts Exhibition

The events of this post happened a couple of days ago but the feelings and emotions are still as raw as they were in the moment. An opportunity had presented itself whereby i was given a chance to see an Art Exhibition presented on behalf of the Boylan Ward at the Women's and Children's Hospital, South Australia. This was an exhibition supported partly through work donations thus i jumped at the chance. I didn't know what to expect, all i knew was that the Boylan Ward does great work in helping adolescents with serious mental health issues get some semblance of normality back into their lives and that i was keen to see what this exhibition was all about.

After arriving at the Women's n Children's Hospital and having a nice chat with the humble and friendly volunteers there i am taken with my group to see the exhibition by our guide/curator. While the exhibition was not in the ward itself, it was nonetheless powerful n thought provoking. We were told all about the background of the paintings and where they had come from, the purpose of Boylan Ward and what they were looking to achieve in the future. The purpose of art, in the rehabilitation of adolescents in the mental health ward, is expression. Im not a patient myself but id imagine if you were living with a serious mental health problem you might find it difficult to express yourself and what you are feeling through written language. Thus the power of Art. It was truly uplifting to see how someone had originally created this concept for an art program which was doing so much good. Id imagine it could even provide future job opportunities which is just fantastic.

Shortly after the art exhibit, we went for a brief visit to see 'Starlight Express Room'. We weren't given a talk about the room and its history but all of us knew just what it meant and the impact it has had. The Express room impacted upon me the moment i laid eyes upon it. The 'Starlight Express Room' provides medical free respite children and their families. Quite often the kids in there are critically ill, are very sick or are getting sick of waiting around in the hospital corridors for their mum's and dad's, families n friends. This quote taken from their website (Starlight Express Room) sums up my thoughts quite well...

"Starlight is a very good example of what miracles are all about. Because of the facilities Starlight provide, our children actually look forward to visiting the hospital for treatment"

Please share this and get in contact with the Starlight Express Room via the above link for more information or the Women's n Children's Hospital via Teresa Whitehorn (the Business Development Manager for the WCH) at teresa.whitehorn@wchfoundation.org.au to see how you can be involved in something truly life changing :)

ForeverConflicted