York Festival of Ideas
- News and events
- Events
- York Festival of Ideas
- 2016 festival
- Festival focus days
- Mysterious Minds and Bothersome Bodies
Mysterious Minds and Bothersome Bodies
How can sound be used to improve drug design? What really happens when we sleep and how does this affect our health? Are our mental health services today little better than in Victorian times?
These are some of the questions explored in a weekend jam-packed with talks, interactive demonstrations and cutting-edge exhibitions. Join us and pose your own questions to our international experts from the fields of medicine, health sciences and the arts.
Saturday 11 June
10.45am - 12.00 noon
Introducing Maggie’s Pioneering Cancer Support
Maggie’s provides free practical, emotional and social support for people with cancer, their families and friends. Join Lesley Howells of Maggie’s for an overview of Maggie’s services and philosophies. Rebeca Ramos from Heatherwick Studio will discuss the design of a new Maggie’s Centre in Leeds.
5.30pm - 7.30pm
Mental Health for All
The importance of looking after our mental health is increasingly recognised in public and political spheres. Join us for a series of talks exploring the nature and scale of public health challenges across the globe.
2.30pm to 4.30pm
Wounds, Healing, Poetry: A Writing Workshop
How can the science of wounds and healing generate poetry? What common ground do poetry and science share? Join Christy Ducker for this practical writing workshop.
5.30pm - 6.30pm
The Art of Healing
Join poet Christy Ducker, scientist Dimitris Lagos and filmmaker Kate Sweeney to explore the connections between science and art. Learn how together, science and art can foster new modes of discovery. The event features new artworks illustrating how wound-healing translates into art.
Sunday 12 June
11.00am - 12.00 noon
Making Music, Sharing Lives: Music Therapy in Children’s Hospices
Music therapists Janet McLachlan and Anna Ludwig present a unique insight into the key role that music can play in the care of children and families in hospices.
12.30pm - 1.20pm
More than a Feeling
Join Victoria Williamson as she introduces the complex relationship between music and wellbeing.
2.00pm - 3.00pm
Crucial Interventions
Join Richard Barnett, author of Crucial Interventions, as he reveals the hidden history of the surgical revolution and its connections with our own experiences under the knife.
Activities, exhibitions and workshops
You can drop into our exhibitions throughout the weekend, and take part in hands-on activities suitable for all the family.
11.00am - 5.00pm
Installation: Listening and Silence
Listening and Silence is a sound installation which expands cochlear implant technologies to the size of a room. Developed by artist Mark Fell, sound design expert Sandra Pauletto and University of York psychologists, it allows you to walk inside the processes hidden inside a cochlear implant.
No booking required
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11.00am - 4.00pm
Designing Drugs with Sound
Researchers are investigating how auditory display - displaying data as sound - could potentially speed up the design of new anti-cancer drugs. Come along and use a specially developed demonstrator, incorporating graphics and 3D sound, and experience the potential of sound for yourself
No booking required, Saturday only.
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12.00 noon - 4.00pm
Bioart Workshop
Anna Dumitriu, an Artist in Residence at the University of York, shares her bioart techniques and processes, and discusses the ideas that have inspired her artwork.
No booking required
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11.00am - 5.00pm
Exhibition: An Artistic Exploration of Antibiotic Resistance
Bioartist Anna Dumitriu has created a new body of artwork in collaboration with researchers at the University of York to explore the urgent issue of antibiotic resistance. The pieces on display fuse craft, digital and sculptural techniques, and were made in the lab using bacteria and viruses as artistic media.
No booking required
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12.00 noon - 4.00pm
Tick Tock Goes the Daily Biological Clock
Why do flowers close at night? Why do heart attacks often occur in the morning? The answers lie in circadian body clocks present in all organisms. Hands-on science activities and demonstrations will help you understand the workings of circadian clocks and how they are important for an organism’s survival in a daily fluctuating environment.
No booking required
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