LabOratory

LabOratory is an exciting project funded by the Wellcome Trust which brings bio-medical science to life across all four Cheltenham Festivals.

Here at Cheltenham Festivals we run four festivals spanning the arts and science - Jazz, Science, Music and Literature. The combination is unique, and the creative spark that is generated when our festivals come together is precious.

Through the generous support of the Wellcome Trust we have been able to bring together artists, musicians, authors and scientists to develop LabOratory, a series of events with a biomedical theme across all four of our festivals.

Often hidden away in labs, biomedical scientists explore how the body works and find new ways to cure or treat disease. Each of our events brings biomedical science to life in a different way: some embracing cutting-edge research, others supporting new talent, all aiming to be thought-provoking and to stimulate debate.

Upcoming Events

 

Science 2012

S81 Animation Migration
8pm, Friday 15 June, Parabola Arts Centre

Originally commissioned for the Jazz Festival in 2011, this highly creative piece explores the theme of evolution with jazz pianist Kit Downes, animator Lesley Barnes and scientist Adam Rutherford. Book tickets

S124 Marcus Brigstocke Invites...
12.30pm, Sunday 17 June, Pillar Room

Marcus Brigstocke met evolutionary geneticist Mark Thomas at last year’s Literature Festival, where he had taken part in our LabOratory event on human migration. Marcus found their conversation so inspiring he wanted to share it with you. Book tickets

Music 2012

Musical Atheletes - Match Fit or On The Bench?

The world of music making is highly competitive – it involves a rigorous schedule, late hours, fierce concentration, vast injections of adrenalin, a great deal of solitary practice and the overcoming of performance ‘nerves’. All of these elements put huge demands on the bodies and minds of musicians, singers and conductors; they are the sort of demands that we more readily associate with sportsmen and women.

Musicians suffer surprisingly high levels of illness and injury directly attributable to their profession. If they can’t work, they can’t earn.

Musical Athletes looks at the human engineering of the musical body – how it works, how it sometimes doesn’t work, and the different ways it can be fixed.

 

M21 Heads, Shoulders, Knees and...
2pm, Saturday 7 July, Town Hall Drawing Room

A look at the musculo-skeletal aspects of the musical body, to include personal testimony from performers who have been to hell and back. What went wrong, and how did they fix it? Book tickets

M23 Ear, Nose and Throat
4pm, Saturday 7 July, Town Hall Drawing Room

Hearing loss, voice injuries and how to breathe properly. What do healthy and unhealthy larynxes look like in action? Book tickets

M30 My Body is a Temple?
2pm, Sunday 8 July, Parabola Arts Centre

A lot of musicians shun conventional medical treatments in favour of ‘alternative’ or complementary therapies. This session investigates how Alexander Technique, Mindfulness, Pilates and the like can get musicians into peak mental and physical condition. Book tickets

M32 Fear and Fearlessness
4.15pm, Sunday 8 July, Parabola Arts Centre

Aaron Williamon, Professor of Performance Science at the Royal College of Music, leads a session that will include an analysis with pianist Melvyn Tan of physiological measures (monitoring of heart rate, skin conductance etc) taken during today’s solo recital (M27). Book tickets

Jazz 2012

A Nice Touch
2.40pm, Saturday 5 May, The Screening Rooms Cinema

Human emotions are at the heart of Paloma Faith's new film. The Jazz Festival's Artist in Residence talks to jazz legend Guy Barker and scientist Benedetto De Martino about the film and the science behind the sentiments it portrays. Book tickets

Literature 2012

At this year's Literature Festival we will be launching a Year of Surgery. For more information and to sign up for programme updates as and when they are announced click here

 

 

2011: Migration

In 2011 migration was our theme. We looked at it from all angles — not only animals - we also explored migration in relation to cooking, writing, ideas, instruments, music, people and of course DNA. We brought together artists and scientists to cross boundaries and create new works — music, writing and spoken events. Across all four Festivals: Jazz, Science, Music and Literature.

Previous Events

Literature 2011

Quentin Cooper, Steve Jones & Lemn Sissay

Award-winning author Lemn Sissay is joined by Genetics Professor Steve Jones and Radio 4 science journalist Quentin Cooper to explore the role that genetics, upbringing and lifestyle choices play in forming our identities...

Science Fiction Futures

Acclaimed science fiction writer, Adam Roberts, author of Yellow Blue Tibia and By Light Alone joins author and broadcaster Mark Brake to explore the fact and the fiction of science fiction, DNA and possible...

How Far Back Can You Go?

We all sometimes wonder where we come from, and for scientists our DNA tells a fascinating story. Join historian and BBC presenter Nick Barratt, Professor of Evolutionary Genetics at UCL...

Jazz 2011

Animation Migration

Put a leading geneticist, a top jazz musician and a talented animator in a room and see what happens… We did just that.

Watch the video

Science 2011

Animal Migration

How much can scientists explain the amazing migratory patterns of animals? Just how do the animals know when to leave and where to go?

The Mark Steel Migration Lecture

Not wishing to avoid the contentious issues that are commonly associated with migration, Mark Steel created a special one-off lecture that covered politics, economics and science all helped along with some of Mark’s special humour.

The Human Migration Story

You might not consider yourself to be much of a world traveller but did you know that your ancient ancestors — we are talking 60,000 years ago — actually came from Africa.

2010: Performance Under Pressure

‘Performance under Pressure’ was our theme for 2010. We took a number of different professions and explored how they sustain the pressures of the job. This included a comedian, a bomb disposal expert, a surgical team as well as a review of the normal workplace experienced by the average employee. We heard and witnessed the pressures of the job and looked to scientists to help explain how our brain functions to support such pressurised roles.

Thank you to Roger Kneebone and the team from Imperial College, London for bringing their simulated operating theatre to Cheltenham and to Matthew Harrison of Studiohead for the photos.

Contact

For more information on LabOratory contact:

Julia Jenkins
Laboratory Project Manager
julia.jenkins@cheltenhamfestivals.com
01242 775163