Central Australian artist Curtis Haines has completed a new artwork for St John NT symbolising Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people working together to save lives and strengthen community safety, cultural understanding and respect for frontline health workers.
The artwork, titled Saving Lives, will become a highly visible part of St John NT in Central Australia, featuring on ambulance livery and community safety materials across print and digital platforms.
An Anmatyerre man from Ti Tree, two hours north of Alice Springs, Curtis was selected by St John NT in August 2026 to develop the artwork as part of a broader program aimed at improving cultural safety, strengthening community trust and creating Aboriginal employment and leadership pathways.
St John NT Chief Executive Officer Abigail Trewin AM said the artwork was an important part of the organisation’s commitment to working alongside Aboriginal communities.
“Our paramedics provide care across Central Australia every day, and we want to strengthen the relationships, understanding and trust between our people and the communities we serve,” Ms Trewin said.
“We know there are challenges and feedback from communities, Elders and health partners has highlighted the importance of improving communication and cultural understanding.
“Saving Lives provides a powerful visual representation of what we want to achieve — people working together with mutual respect and a shared commitment to keeping our communities and our frontline health workers safe.”
Curtis has strong connections to Country and eight family clan groups across Central Australia. He learned to paint from his grandmother from the age of 16 and has worked for the past 13 years as an Aboriginal Liaison Officer at Alice Springs Hospital.
Curtis said Saving Lives was built around the idea of two cultures coming together for a common purpose.
“The concept I have created is of two cultures, represented by two hands, black and white, coming together to save a life,” Mr Haines said.
“At the centre is the human heart, representing the life that Indigenous and non-Indigenous people work every day to save. It symbolises working together for a common cause — to save lives.”
The artwork incorporates a central heart surrounded by elements representing ambulances, paramedics and doctors. Circles represent the many families and family members of remote patients, while an ECG line through the centre represents the heartbeat.
Ms Trewin said commissioning an Aboriginal-led artwork was one of several initiatives St John NT is developing with Central Australian stakeholders.
“We want the messages we take into community to be culturally informed, locally meaningful and shaped by Aboriginal voices.
“Curtis has created something that speaks very simply and powerfully to our shared purpose. No matter where we come from, when someone needs emergency care, we come together to save lives.”
St John NT thanks the Centrecorp Foundation for its generous support in making the Saving Lives artwork possible.
Their generous contribution enabled St John NT to commission the artwork and will support its incorporation into the ambulance livery across Alice Springs and Tennant Creek. The artwork will provide a highly visible and lasting representation of the shared commitment to cultural understanding and the health and safety of our frontline staff and community.
