22 Aug 2018
Refuge 2018: Pandemic
At the beginning of the year, the Doherty Institute hosted several artist in residence from Arts House Melbourne as well as participating in severl think tank sessions as Arts House Melbourne. The resulting artworks, public forums and conversations will be displayed over four days as Refuge 2018: Pandemic.
Extreme heat, rising sea levels, forced migration, increased spread of diseases, social unrest, extinctions - climate catastrophe is here. Refuge is now in year three of a five-year project that examines potential climate-related disasters and traces how we might collectively respond.
Refuge 2018: Pandemic explores the health impacts of climate change: epidemics, grief, stigma, and anxieties invoked by the languageofdisease. In nightmares, and in histories past and present - including those of colonisation and genocide - pandemics have brought unspeakable disaster on communities. Our bodies, and those of our loved ones, are our most valued possessions. Pandemics challenge us to understand our corporeallity, fears and taboos and teach us the necessity of ritual.
Refuge’s offering is radical and full of compassion. How can we write ourselves into some of the scariest scenarios imaginable? We owe this thinking to our communities, and we need to find as many ways as possible to prepare. Over four busy days that includes public forums, games, conversations and artistic works, scariest scenarios imaginable?
We owe this thinking to our communities, and we need to find as many ways as possible to prepare. Over four busy days that includes public forums, games, conversations and artistic works, join us at Refuge 2018: Pandemic at the North Melbourne Town Hall for real information and real science as they get real creative in our readiness for what the future may hold.