Wellcome Collection -

 

A free museum and library exploring health and human experience How to Hold, Behold, and Be Held Artwork | Instagram   In some ways I've grown used to dealing with the loss of access to my loved ones, but increasingly I’ve been thinking about the missing influence that casual contact with strangers has on my life. Amidst the isolation, it felt important to create something by reaching out to others: to other artists but also particularly to strangers, who I miss meeting during performances in public spaces. I hope this work can be a way of exploring how we might hold ourselves and each other as we head into what comes next. Rhiannon Armstrong, artist Find out more  What's Online D/deaf and Disabled Artists on Making Work Now Fri 29 Jan, 16.00–17.00 Online event | Speech-to-text | British Sign Language Poet, writer and researcher Jamie Hale and five fellow disabled artists talk about their experiences of living through and making work in the pandemic. Intensive Care with Dr Gavin Francis Thu 25 Feb, 19.00–20.00 Online event | Discussion Join us to explore what it means to be a doctor caring for a society in crisis during a pandemic. To celebrate his new book, Gavin will discuss his deeply personal experience of a year caring for patients in rural and urban communities with writer Louise Welsh. How to Hold 26 - 31 Jan, Instagram Artwork | Captioned | Audio and video Experience a daily testimony from the International Archive of Things Left Unsaid; anonymous contributors reflecting on love and longing. As many of us begin the year with feelings of isolation, how do we hold someone else’s experience alongside our own? Part of Rhiannon Armstrong’s “How to Hold, Behold, and Be Held”. Connecting for Change (Episode 3 of For All I Care out now) Podcast Join Nwando Ebizie to look at how rest has been politicised, whether the mental health system can be redeemed by art and how to navigate the noise of the city. Guests include Black Power Naps (artists Navild Acosta and Fannie Sosa), researcher Professor Stephani Hatch, artists Dolly Sen and Rowdy SS. Being Human Now part 2 (Part of What does it mean to be human, now?) Short film | Audio described version available Our collaborators elaborate on their personal experiences of living and working during the coronavirus pandemic and share their thoughts and feelings about what comes next. The extraordinary body of Evatima Tardo Article Evatima Tardo fascinated scientists, Houdini and the general public alike. Audience members would faint as they watched her endure snakebites and appalling injuries, including crucifixion. This long read explores her life and the theories that tried to explain her abilities. Supporting Ourselves (Series) Watch again | Discussion | Speech-to-text | Relaxed Watch this series of conversations between people with different life experiences, who have had to find ways to support themselves and their communities during a global pandemic. Our pairs of speakers reflect on the personal care practices and support structures that they have drawn on over the last year. Words Fail Us: In Defence of Disfluency Book Jonty Claypole spent fifteen years in and out of extreme speech therapy, until finally being told the words he'd always feared: 'We can't cure your stutter.' Since then, he has learnt to use a stammer to his advantage. Here, Jonty argues that our obsession with fluency could be hindering, rather than helping, our creativity, authenticity and persuasiveness. Discover more online  Stories Rubyetc Comic Enjoy our new comic series on our love/ hate relationship with food. Drawn for you by Rubyetc, a cartoonist, illustrator and author who draws about sad things in a funny way and vice versa. View all stories  Beyond Wellcome The value of the human in the age of automation Royal Institution | Tue 02 Feb 7pm - 8:30pm Online | Free Anders Sandberg explores how it is now machines that will need reprogramming in the future, but humanity. As AI replaces 'specialists', human polymaths will become indispensable. Covid Conversations with Lauren Laverne The Francis Crick Institute | Wed 03 Feb 6pm - 6:45pm Online | Free BBC Radio 6 Music host Lauren Laverne chats to Crick scientists Samra Turajlic and Karen Ambrose, exploring what it is like to be a scientist at the cutting edge of tackling Covid-19. Vaccination, with Professor Chris Whitty Gresham College | Wed 10 Feb 6pm - 7pm Online (or watch later) | Free Vaccination has transformed the outlook for many previous lethal infectious diseases but has caused controversy since its beginnings. This lecture will consider several aspects of the science and public debate about vaccines.