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Monthly Archives

July 2006

Conference ‘Getting Underneath the Fact: Natural Categories & Biological Facts as Historical and Emergent Objects', Lancaster, 28-29 August 2006.

By Biomedicine in museums

(Added 18 July: Registration dead-line has been extended to 30 July)
The ‘science wars’ of the 1990s is already history, but the relations between scientists and scholars of science studies and recent history of science and medicine continue to raise concern. The Centre for Science Studies at Lancaster University is organising a conference ‘Getting Underneath the Fact: Natural Categories & Biological Facts as Historical and Emergent Objects’, 28-29 August 2006.
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How do (medical) museums work with their historical identity?

By Biomedicine in museums

The Museums and Galleries History Group is organising a meeting, “Past and present: negotiating museum and gallery history” at Newcastle University at 7-8 September. The organisers tell us that:

This is a chance to review the nature and roles of museum and gallery history, looking at: trends in and uses of museum and gallery historiography and attempts to link contemporary museological concerns (such as access, inclusion, diversity, restitution etc.) to historical precedents. The proceedings will also focus on the ways in which museums and galleries today work with (or against) their historic identities, buildings, collections, displays and the historical paradigms of knowledge, culture and society inherent within them.

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Drawings of/in medicine — in Cambridge and Copenhagen

By Biomedicine in museums

The art of drawing of/in science and medicine is a summer theme in 2006. Here at the Medical Museion we are opening the exhibition “Sygdommens Ansigt” (The Face of Disease) on Thursday 24 August. 23 artists are participating with drawings of disease inspired by Sontag’s idea of disease as a metaphor. Each artist fills a window on the street level of the museum buildings in Bredgade and Fredericiagade. The exhibition is curated by Copenhagen artists Peter Brandt, Tomas Lagerman Lundme and Maria Wæhrens and runs until 13 October.

The exhibition at Medical Museion runs parallel to the exhibition “Lines of Inquiry: Thinking Through Drawing” that opens at Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge on 15 July:
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Art and allergy

By Biomedicine in museums

Phoenix Arts Association have been awarded a grant from The Wellcome Trust for artist Anna Dumitriu to work on a project about allergy entitled “Sensitive”:

“The project is transdisciplinary and crosses the boundary between art and science enabling a greater understanding of allergy through scientific research and innovative art techniques (such as live art, video and installation). The project looks at both the medical and emotional impact of this increasingly common condition, raising awareness of different coping strategies and developing participants methods of expression”

(quoted from the project’s website)

They also have a blog that documents the progress of the project. Welcome to the growing club of project blogs 🙂

New exhibition; "Resonance — Electromagnetic Bodies", Budapest

By Biomedicine in museums

The Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art in Budapest, Hungary, has a new exhibition, “Resonance — Electromagnetic Bodies” curated by Nina Czegledy and Louise Provencher between 22 June and 27 August:

“The exhibition explores the notions of being and desire in a society determined by our bodily immersion within an ubiquitous and omnipresent electromagnetic realm”.

The exhibition website didn’t work today, but try again later …

UMAC (University Museums and Collections) Newsletter

By Biomedicine in museums

If you are interested in what goes on in the university museum world you may want to take a look at the University Museums and Collections (UMAC) website, edited by Cornelia Weber. It has, among other things, a very useful and up-to-date database of museums and collections around the world (including medical history museums) and they also publish a newsletter, edited by Lyndel King — the last issue (June 2006) is available to members of the UMAC only, but earlier issues can be read here.