Les histoires de cancer

Curating cancer stories

 

Call for papers

 

The Science Museum is sharing a call for papers for a forthcoming workshop event:‘Curating cancer stories' , Friday 17th June 2-4pm, Science Museum, that will coincide with the opening of the Cancer Revolution: Science, Innovation, Hope <https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/cancer-revolution-science-innovation-and-hope>  exhibition at the Science Museum.

Cancer is a disease that affects so many of us. How are museums and galleries engaging audiences with stories and experiences of the impacts of this disease?

In this free workshop we will be exploring how museums and galleries across the UK and beyond are engaging audiences with experiences of cancer past and present, and communicating aspects of contemporary cancer science.  The latest research tells us that 1 in 2 of us will be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetime, which may seem a frightening prospect. Yet, in the last forty years significant progress in cancer care has been made and there is much to be hopeful about in living with this disease now and in future - currently about half of those diagnosed with the disease live for ten years or longer. Alongside scientific progress, a revolution also appears to be happening in how the disease is perceived, presented and discussed within society. A disease formerly treated with silence and stigma, today cancer experiences are openly shared in soaps, films, podcasts, social media and in graphic novels – and notably explored within a number of exhibitions that have recently opened across the UK and beyond.

 How are curators tackling sensitivities around sharing experiences of cancer with audiences? Who’s stories and experiences of cancer are being shared? How can we communicate the immensely diverse and complex field of cancer science to our visiting publics? What role can art play in story sharing? What can histories of people impacted by cancer or involved in researching cancer tell us about cancer care today? Why is such attention being focussed on experiences of cancer and cancer research now? What do our visitors think about these shows? We hope this workshop will create a space to foster discussion around these topics and more.

 

We would be thrilled to receive submissions for 15-20 minute talks/presentations from curators, researchers, artists, project participants and people impacted by cancer on topics such as (but aren’t limited to):
 

*          Exhibitions/galleries as spaces to engage the public with stories about cancer 

*          Curating narratives about cancer 

*          Communicating complex cancer science to visiting publics

*          Tackling sensitivities, misconceptions, stigma associated with cancer experiences

*          Histories of cancer experiences or of cancer research reshaping how we might talk about or present cancer past and present

*          Intersections between art and cancer experiences

*          Opportunities for facilitating participation or featuring activism around cancer

 

Please send the title of your talk and short abstract together with a brief speaker biography to: katie.dabin@sciencemuseum.ac.uk <mailto:katie.dabin@sciencemuseum.ac.uk>   by April 27th.