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IDRM researchers engage with Parasol Project
On June 6th, 2024, IDRM's researchers and staff members met with community group Parasol Project to contribute ideas for an upcoming dance performance, which will take place during IF Oxford Science + Ideas Festival 2024.
The Parasol Project, an Oxford-based charity, which provides inclusive activities for disabled and non-disabled young people, asked IDRM members to help them shape an upcoming performance at IF Oxford Festival 2024 with the theme "What matters to you and why?"
The creative process involved asking IDRM staff about their priorities at home, in friendships, and at work, thereby integrating their responses into the choreography's artistic expression.
The young people of the Parasol Project met with various representatives of IDRM's academic community, including principal investigators, lab managers, postdoctoral researchers, and support staff.
The creative discussions involved insights into and experiences of 'people at work' within the IDRM and its laboratory spaces. The aim was to help the young people learn about the way researchers work and how that understanding might inspire their next dance performance.
About the performance
The performance under the theme "What matters to you and why?" will take place during a panel discussion at Harris Manchester College in October as a part of IF 2024.
After the ideation workshop at IDRM, Sophie Stanley, dance lead from The Parasol Project, and Merlin Matthews, producer at The Beat Shed, will take the sound recording from the meeting and create a soundtrack to create a base for the choreography.
About Shaping Destiny
Shaping Destiny is a previous collaboration between IDRM researchers and the Parasol Project. Through dance, VR technology, and 3D motion graphics, it explores different perspectives on the shape of the human body by uniting research in molecular genetics and the arts.
About the Parasol Project
The Parasol Project is an Oxford-based charity committed to redressing the balance for disabled and disadvantaged children and young people experiencing, or at risk of, social exclusion.
The Parasol Project was established in 1991 by a group of professionals working with disabled and vulnerable young people in response to the lack of inclusive play and leisure activities within Oxfordshire. To learn more about the Parasol Project, visit their website.
About public engagement at the IDRM
The Institute of Developmental & Regenerative Medicine is committed to engaging with the public, whom we consider our principal stakeholders. We believe it is essential for everyone to access our pioneering research in developmental biology and regenerative medicine. To learn more about our public engagement activities, visit our Engagement page.
