5:00pm-8:30pm on Thursday 19 March
Times shown are in GMT (UTC +0) up to the 26th March. For events on or after 27th March times are in BST (UTC +1).
St John's College Old Divinity School, All Saints Passage, CB2 1TP
This event brings together scientists, artists, writers and musicians to explore how creative practice can illuminate and respond to research on women’s health and reproduction.
The event will unfold in three parts, each inviting audiences to experience and reflect on the intersections between art and science. Guests are welcome to attend some or all of the three sessions.
Part 1: Art and collaboration (17:30–18:15)
Artists and scientists involved in the SciArt project (https://www.repro.cam.ac.uk/sciart) will share insights from their collaborations exploring pregnancy, reproduction and human development. Through discussion, they will reflect on how these partnerships shaped their creative processes and the artworks featured in the accompanying exhibition (Part 3).
Part 2: Writing reflections (18:30–19:15)
A conversation and performance featuring Professor Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri (biologist, Fetal and Placental Physiology), Dr Frances Myatt (classicist, Department of Classics) and Lara Gisborne (singer-songwriter; https://laragisborne.co.uk/). Together they will discuss their creative collaboration – drawing connections between Amanda’s research on pregnancy and women’s health, Frances’s study of childbirth in the ancient Roman world and Lara’s songwriting inspired by these conversations. The session will include live performances of songs emerging from their exchange.
Part 3: Exhibition (19:30–20:30)
The evening concludes with an exhibition of newly commissioned artworks and scientific images from the SciArt project. These works engage with themes of reproduction and reproductive health through diverse media – including textiles, sculpture and painting. Using art as a doorway, this exhibition invites audience members to discover developmental biology in a way that goes beyond scientific jargon, creating a space for conversations between science and real life. The display will also feature other artwork relating to reproduction and women’s health from Cambridge collections.
Visitors are invited to participate by contributing to a crowd-sourced playlist and creating their own drawings and artworks inspired by the themes of the event. Throughout the evening, illustrator and biologist Professor Alex Cagan (https://www.alexcagan.com/) will produce live sketches capturing the discussions and performances, which will be showcased as part of the event.
There’ll be drinks and nibbles whilst you browse the exhibition.
