Prosthetic Futures is a new art/science research project supported by the Brigstow Institute exploring innovations in reconstructive prosthetics. Prosthetics are bespoke handmade body parts crafted for individual needs and created in collaboration with a scientist. They are moved, handled, and live up to daily tasks unique to the owner. Novel technological approaches are opening new pathways to explore what prosthetics can mean for a user and how they are created.
This research with the University of Bristol will be exploring speculative art and design of reconstructive prosthetics through collaborative making by patients, artists, scientists and health professionals. The investigation considers the embodiment and senses of emerging technologies upon future prosthetics, and speculates about how they may adapt to future environments.
This session will explore insights into how the project is utilising interdisciplinary creative arts methodologies as envisioning tools for meaning making and developing communities of creative practice in prosthetics with diverse project partners.
Simon Hall is a visual artist, art/science researcher and GP dual qualified in medicine and dentistry. His socially engaged arts practice and curiosity driven research uses craft, sculpture, installation, emerging digital technologies and bio-art to explore issues of stigma and identity. Simon’s collaborative arts practice draws in diverse project partners including charities, academic institutions and the general public to produce interactive arts experiences. www.simon-hall.co.uk
Catherine Lamont-Robinson is an artist/educator, curator and researcher with a particular interest in multi-sensory and participatory engagement. She is an honorary lecturer in the School of Population Health Sciences at Bristol Medical School. Catherine is the co-designer and curator of the www.outofourheads.net Bristol medical student creative arts website and teaches on several UoB courses through arts-based enquiry and from disability-studies perspectives.
The workshop will be held in G.16 Cotham House and on Zoom.