BENGALURU: Although the world is currently battling the COVID- 19 crisis, we as a society have dealt with a host of other contagions in the past as well. You can learn more about this through Science Gallery Bengaluru’s new exhibition. The not-for-profit public institution for researchbased engagement is conducting a 45-day virtual exhibition tracing the reason behind transmission through not just a virus, but human emotions, art, dance, social behaviour, disinformation and more. This virtual exhibition, called Contagion, has been curated by Danielle Olsen, international cultural producer at the Wellcome Trust, and Jahnavi Phalkey, founding director, Science Gallery Bengaluru.
It has been in the making for the past one year. “Contagion presents a multiplicity of voices to better understand our collective experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. We open doors to research, to creative responses, and handson activities that will help us all formulate relevant questions as we make our way through this demanding moment,” says Phalkey. According to Madhushree Kamak, programme coordinator for Contagion, the event also aims to engage young adults in research in humanity, technology, art and other disciplines.
“This our fourth such exhibition. It has 16 interactive exhibits that deal with topics like viruses, vaccines, contagious laughter and much more. We also have a public lecture series including talks and tutorials, starting this week, moderated by senior experts from health backgrounds,” says Kamak. The interactive virtual exhibition will kick off with an open lecture and tutorial by Sheila Jasanoff, a science professor at Harvard Kennedy school speaking about ‘Control, Consensus, Chaos: The Global Response to the Pandemic’, including a case study of India.
Later in May, artist Ranjit Kandalgaonkar will exhibit his works related to drawing the Bombay plague, Christos Lynteris, a senior lecturer in anthropology, will be exhibiting his works on ‘Controlling the Plague in British India’. Besides dealing with pandemic and disease control related subjects, the programme will also host Ananya Kabir, a literary and cultural historian, who will conduct a tutorial class on Contagion and Electricity: Two Ways of Talking About Connection in Dance.
The class is based on how social dance can become viral and aims to understand the way we must dance during the pandemic. The science event, beginning on April 30, will have 40 trained moderators from Bengaluru who will help walk the visitors through different exhibitions and help them understand the behind the scene moments of the artist. Contagion will take place from April 30 to June 13. For more details, visit the Bengaluru Science Gallery website.