The IDM photo-wall project was designed in collaboration with the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (Dr Christle de Beer) and the UCT Works of Art Committee (Nadja Daehnke). Together with vinyl text on the glass, the photo wall was conceptualised to highlight work by IDM-affiliated groups that bring together science and society.
Given a close history of partnership and support from the IDM for our growth, we are proud to be the inaugural project featured on this wall. Images and installations will rotate periodically as new IDM-based projects are developed and outputs become available.
Eh!woza was established in 2013 as an informal grouping of biomedical researchers, artists and IkamvaYouth (a South African tutoring NGO) with a shared vision for health-related public engagement work. Conceived as a once-off initiative, Eh!woza implemented several public engagement projects that were embedded within the IDM over the following six years. In 2020, Eh!woza was awarded a Wellcome Trust Discretionary Award in Public Engagement, which facilitated the consolidation of the work and transition into an independent NPO, while maintaining very close links to the IDM.
The photographic images on the wall are sourced from documentation of Eh!woza’s oldest programme, Eh!woza Doccies and still from music videos produced during the MSF/Musos/DR-TB Collab.
Eh!woza Doccies was first implemented in 2014 and engages high school learners from townships in Cape Town with high impact biomedical research being conducted at the IDM. After this, learners are provided with the equipment, skills, and guidance to produce documentaries about the social and personal impact of TB, HIV, Covid and intersectional issues linked to disease in South Africa. Films are disseminated via facilitated in-person screenings, Eh!woza’s Schools programme, and several online and social media platforms.
The MSF/Musos/DR-TB Collab brought together young people who had survived DR-TB with young Khayelitsha-based musicians, with aim of sharing experiences and storytelling around experiences of having had and surviving DR-TB. Musicians produced music, poetry and music videos based on this outcome and the image on the wall represents a still from one of these music videos.
The word clouds on the vinyl represent thoughts and feelings towards HIV and TB collected by 15 – 18-year-old high school learners enrolled in the 2022 Eh!woza doccies programme. To gain insights into how research is conducted, learners implemented mini-projects in their neighbourhoods of Khayelitsha. The work aimed to understand how people think and feel about TB and HIV and was used to prepare the word cloud you see on the window.
In a broader sense, the wall represents the IDM’s commitment to engaging the public with health research conducted at the Institute and its support for initiatives that work to do that. Over the next few years, the wall will feature the myriad of work conducted at the IDM that forwards this aim.
Printing and installation of this work was facilitated by the IDM’s ExCo committee, design and image production was provided by Eh!woza, and images were approved by Nadja Daehnke (WOAC), with conceptual input from all three groups. We hope that you enjoy these images and please send any feedback/queries to: info@ehwoza.com or idm@uct.ac.za