Beyond Epilepsy

Hello there!

We are looking for volunteer collaborators who would be willing to exhibit their work with the intention of raising awareness and challenging misconceptions about epilepsy. It will aim to use both historical material, modern understanding and artistic interpretation to present a timeline of change in medical and social contexts, throughout which people’s experience will remain central. The project will benefit from the involvement of Epilepsy Scotland, who will be forming a consulting role.

The exhibition is a collaborative project between visual artists and historians, exploring the history of epilepsy in an interactive and engaging way for audiences. We are aiming to use visual art to demonstrate the changes in medical belief and social context, from the Hippocratic ‘sacred disease’ to the present day, through an analysis of female hysteria and the discovery of the workings of the nervous system. It is part of a Wellcome Trust-funded PhD project on the history of epilepsy being undertaken by the project leader, Rachel Hewitt, at the Centre for the Social History of Health and Healthcare (http://www.gcu.ac.uk/cshhh/) The project will also benefit from the input of a Creative Director, Olivia Vitazkova and a Technical Director, Sam House.

Unfortunately, we are unable to pay salaries or fees to members of the project, but materials and expenses for the production of new work will be reimbursed, and all intellectual property rights belong to the producers of the work. As it is largely a charitable project, it is being run not-for-profit through Glasgow Caledonian University and Epilepsy Scotland. Any proceeds raised through charitable collections will be donated to Epilepsy Scotland.

For more information contact us at: epilepsyandart@gmail.com