Ignite Imaginations invites you to the Microstories Exhibition in the Winter Gardens on Wednesday 3rd June 12-7PM. A showcase of stories and artwork reflecting on the realities of life with a long term health condition.
Developed in partnership with a team of researchers and clinicians from The University of Sheffield and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, the display will offer a snap shot into what life is liek with the rare respiratory disease, pulmonary hypertension. Julia Goddard is a medical student who has interviewed patients from the specialist centre at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, creating a series of ‘microstories’ that reflect the realities of living with a life limiting illness. Pulmonary hypertension is a condition with an unpredictable prognosis that can start at any age and affects around 6-7,000 people in the UK.
However, the experiences and emotions documented will resonate with people living with other chronic illnesses, those with a close friend or family member with illness, and people who want to learn more about the human experience.
The stories are varied in their content, touching on moments such as the relief of diagnosis and waiting to go home from hospital, to the coping strategies of humour, faith, and burying your head in the sand.
Ignite Imaginations worked with a group of young people to read through the narratives and create illustrated canvases that will be revealed alongside the stories and other artwork on the 3rd June.
People will be able to read the stories, reflect and have the opportunity to add their own creative responses, with the hope being that the installation will increase people’s understanding of what it is like living with illness and encourage communication around the subject.
