Post provided by Dr Stella Bolaki:
Artists’ Books and the Medical Humanities
An interdisciplinary symposium and workshop, accompanied by Prescriptions:
an exhibition of artists’ books by Martha A. Hall and other artists
Artists’ Books and the Medical Humanities consists of an exhibition of artists’ books in the Beaney House of Art & Knowledge, a symposium and a full-day workshop, to take place in Canterbury on 21st-22nd April 2016. Martha Hall’s books, on loan from the University of New England, were created from 1998 until her death in 2003 and document her experiences with breast cancer. They engage with several ongoing issues in the field of the medical humanities, including illness narratives, representations of women’s bodies and patient-doctor relationships. These themes find unique expression through the medium’s intimacy, immediacy and complexity that not only challenges the conventional book form but also offers a palpable experience of the patient’s world. In addition to Hall’s books, Prescriptions (21 April-14 August 2016) will include a supporting show of artists’ books by national and international artists responding to themes of art and wellbeing that is curated by Dr Stella Bolaki and Egidija Čiricaitė
The symposium (Cathedral Lodge, 21 April) will explore connections between artists’ books, health/illness and medicine from interdisciplinary perspectives. The workshop (Beaney Art Museum, 22 April) will be facilitated by book artist and educator Andrew Malone and will bring together health professionals, artists and members of the wider public. Click for Symposium and Workshop programmes and registration details.
Organised by the University of Kent’s School of English and the University of New England’s Maine Women Writers Collection, with the support of the Beaney House of Art & Knowledge, Canterbury.
Funded by The Wellcome Trust
Contact: Dr Stella Bolaki, University of Kent