Image: Spit Spreads Death, an interactive parade of light and sound. Philadelphia, 2019

On Tuesday 30 June, join us for a live, online event presented by Birkbeck’s Centre for Museum Cultures and Centre for Medical Humanities.

We will be discussing our recent work on contagious diseases – from our 2018 artists’ residency at the World Health Organisation and our subsequent work A Cluster of 17 Cases, to our most recent project Spit Spreads Death: The Parade examining the historic flu pandemic of 1918.

Our 2017 work A Cluster of 17 Cases was the culmination of the first ever artists’ residency at the World Health Organization and explores moments of uncertainty in public health decision-making during the 2003 SARS epidemic.

Our body of work on infectious diseases and public health continued in 2019 when we created Spit Spreads Death: The Parade. The project examined the historic flu pandemic of 1918, which killed more people around the world than both world wars together.

The work took the form of an interactive parade on the streets of Philadelphia, with hundreds of citizens walking to honour those who lost their lives. The first public commemoration to the flu in the United States, each person who took part in the parade had the chance to honour an individual who died on the deadliest day of the pandemic. Remembering the personal tragedies of thousands of people in Philadelphia, the work acknowledged the impact of when a virus becomes unstoppable.

The talk will be followed by an open Q&A and panel discussion.

Tuesday 30 June, 6.00 – 7.30pm. This is a free event but booking is essential. Find out more and book.