Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
As my contribution to a project called A Gift for Others, I am proposing to deliver a 24-hour lecture, seeking to raise funds for Madlani Cancer Support.
This may come a little surprise to anyone who has experienced any of my previous lectures, at LCC, at ARU, at CSVPA, or elsewhere; I can imagine that, at times, even a two-hour lecture may well have felt much longer than that!
Here is some context:
On 17th February 2025, a group of Cambridge School of Visual & Performing Arts students, alumni and staff were hosted by the Cancer Institute at UCL.
As artists and designers, drawn from diverse disciplinary backgrounds, we heard from PhD researchers, received first-hand testimonies from Madlani Cancer Support patient organisation and others, and we were toured through various laboratories and workstations.
It was a day marked by a rich interweaving of impressions, with many moments bringing unexpected resonance. We came away with deepened personal reflections and more developed understandings.
We were able to reflect on the inherent complexity and uniqueness of each cancer case, emphasizing that even similar diagnoses can lead to entirely different treatments and experiences. This acknowledgment of individuality was paired with a profound appreciation for personal narratives: the moving patient testimonies reminded everyone that beyond the data and procedures lie individual stories marked by courage, resilience and imagination.
There was also a striking recognition of the aesthetic qualities to be found in unexpected places. From the revelatory power of lasers and fluorescent lights in microscopy to the abstract forms located in cell imagery and flow cytometry, the scientific processes were experienced not only as technical feats but also in terms of their capacity as artistic expressions. Visual marvels, such as spiderweb-like patterns, vibrant palettes, and shapes - reminiscent of abstract painting - stirred creative interpretations, suggesting shared hinterlands between contexts of science and art, ripe for speculative development.
Humour and humanity intermingled with the gravity of the subject. The power that even a light-hearted quip can have, to manage in moments of great difficulty, technical or emotional, underscored that moments of levity offer comfort in high-stakes environments.
Similarly, a reflection that ‘scientists need pizza too’, demonstrated an understanding that technical environments need to be understood as humanized, emphasizing that behind every procedure are individuals, striving with care and compassion; and further to that, those individuals are working within broader communities.
The day illuminated how both realms of science and art, while often operating with distinct vocabularies, share an underlying commitment to storytelling and interpretation. Whether through the precise language of cell biology or the emotive expression found in artistic narratives, everyone was engaged in the act of making sense of a complex reality.
The second stage of A Gift for Others saw the CSVPA artists and designers developing reciprocal ‘gifts’, to be presented at a showcase at the CI on Friday 30th May 2025, applying their creativity in ways appropriate to them and their experience.
Of course, ‘creativity’ is by no means the exclusive domain of artists and designers; it is an attribute encouraged and valued across all fields and contexts of knowledge, a ground for what it means to be human; and further, a quality attributable to life - to living - itself.
The responses reflect the experience at the CI as not only an exploration of cancer as condition, as lived experience, as professional vocation, but also a celebration of the collective human spirit; in which each story, each image, each scientific detail becoming a part of a larger ‘gift’ intended to foster empathy, understanding, and hope.
The creative outcomes of this project aim to give back to all the communities involved. As ‘gifts’, they are not only intended as celebrations of human creativity, but they are also as reminders of the vital importance of sharing human experience, fostering hope and solidarity in the face of adversity.
As my ‘gift’, I am proposing to deliver a 24-hour lecture, over the weekend of the 12th-13th July 2025.
More accurately, it will comprise a series of lectures, ranging across art, design, photography and culture. The event will be live-streamed (link below); I will have snacks, loo breaks and throat lozenges, as and when necessary; there may even be a costume change or two.
Livestream on Zoom:
https://zoom.us/j/5428529139?omn=95144258232
Cambridge School of Visual & Performing Arts
UCL Cancer Institute
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/medical-sciences/divisions/cancer
Madlani Cancer support
https://www.instagram.com/madlani.cancer.support/?hl=en
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