CfP: Material Culture of Health Activism

THURSDAY 20 JUNE 2019, SCIENCE MUSEUM, LONDON

A workshop at the Science Museum, London, organised by Imogen Clarke, Assistant Curator of Medicine.

Health activism has arisen in response to a range of issues including NHS funding cuts, abortion law reform, the provision of mental health care and abolishing the so-called ‘tampon tax’. Campaigning and protesting for and against these issues and others have proliferated a wide variety of material and visual culture including AIDS quilts, pro-choice badges, placards at junior doctor strikes and contemporary artworks. This interdisciplinary conference will explore the histories and strategies of health activism along with the material and visual culture of this activity. We will additionally consider the politics and practices of collecting, curating and interpreting health activism in museums and other institutions.

The day will include a keynote lecture by Manon Parry and a short ceremony involving the lotus unfolding of Block 3 of the Dutch AIDS Memorial Quilt introduced by Jörn Wolters from the Stichting NAMENproject Nederland.
We invite papers on health activism from any time period and discipline, which may reflect on the following topics and related areas:

  • Health activism and museums
  • The history and material culture of health activism
  • Rapid response collecting and medicine collections
  • Art, activism and medicine

Please submit abstracts of 250 words for 20 minute papers and a short biography of 100 words to Imogen Clarke, imogen.clarke@sciencemuseum.ac.uk by 5pm on 28 April 2019.