A one-day symposium, co-organised by the University of Kent’s School of English and the University of New England’s Maine Women Writers Collection, will explore connections between artists’ books, health/illness and medicine. It will also launch Prescriptions, an exhibition of book art by Martha A. Hall, on loan from the University of New England, which will run until the 14th of August in the Beaney House of Art & Knowledge, Canterbury. Martha Hall’s books, created from 1998 until her death in 2003, engage with several on-going issues in the field of the medical humanities, including illness narratives, representations of women’s bodies and patient-doctor relationships. These themes find unique expression through the medium’s intimacy, immediacy and complexity that not only challenges the conventional book form but also offers a palpable experience of the patient’s world. Prescriptions will include a supporting show of artists’ books by national and international artists responding to themes of art and wellbeing that is curated by Dr Stella Bolaki (University of Kent) and Egidija Čiricaitė (artist).
The registration fee for the symposium is £15 and includes coffee/tea, lunch and a drinks reception. Participants will also have the chance to attend a special preview of the Prescriptions exhibition in the Beaney House of Art & Knowledge. View the full programme and details of how to book.
A workshop related to the work of Martha A. Hall will also take place at The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge on the following day (Friday 22 April 2016, 9 am-5pm). Participants will experience the creative, therapeutic and educational potential of artists’ books and learn how to make one in this full-day practical workshop with book artist and educator Andrew Malone. Find out more at the event website.