‘A drop of hope’
Photographs by Ed Prosser, 2021
At the start of 2021, I devised the curatorial strategy and creative briefs for a Covid-19 public art project to animate the new vaccine centre at The Francis Crick Institute. Twelve poets in residence were commissioned to create new works reflecting on the impact of the vaccination program, and the shifts and changes we’ve all gone through in the past year. The resulting installation was titled ‘A Drop of Hope’.
““A big part of the project is about people who read the poems while waiting for their vaccine. You can be welcomed by the words of those who’ve come before you.””
My role involved scoping out various options for a temporary, public intervention to help the Crick make the experience of visiting the vaccine centre welcoming and memorable, while also engaging the public in the science of the vaccination in a meaningful way. Subsequently, I developed one proposal for delivery: the commissioning of twelve poets to respond to postcards written by visitors to the vaccine centre. Each person entering the vaccine centre was invited to ‘post’ a card as they left, sharing personal reflections on the impact of the pandemic on their lives. With up to 7,000 vaccinations taking place per week, the cards formed an incredibly rich archive that revealed intriguing patterns in the collective themes, language, stories and perspectives.
With the support of Poet in the City, the poets drew on this archive to create a new works through virtual residencies. Each month new poetry appeared across the building - a reference to the cumulative effect of each vaccination - and the artwork grew throughout the lifetime of the vaccination centre. Eight poems were written in English, two in Bengali and two in Somali, reflecting the ethnic diversity of the people who contributed to the project and the community in local Camden. Seen together, the poems formed a rainbow - a sign of solidarity with the NHS, and a promise of better times ahead.
