Join us for an exploration of past and present public health through cartoons!
Listen to two fascinating talks about how cartoons did not only draw attention to public health emergencies in the past, but can also help us process living through one in the present, before trying your hand at creating your own cartoons!
Punch Magazine: the Agitator for Change in Public Health
Satirical cartoons published in Punch magazine in the 1840s and 1850s were a surprising and consistent force for reform in social health.
By focussing attention on the appalling state of London's working conditions and waterways the magazine pushed for a progressive approach with a hard hitting but humorous stance. Some of the most memorable graphic images of the 19th Century were made in this way, capturing troubling issues with beauty and wit.
Amanda-Jane Doran has had the privilege of researching, conserving and interpreting fascinating collections of books, manuscripts and drawings over a long career. Initially for Punch, in collaboration with colleagues at the British Museum and the V&A, more recently in the Collections Department at the RA and for the National Trust. The rich and varied history of satire, graphic art and book illustration has provided a wonderful series of stories to explore, and a spring board into other areas of research including medieval music, 19th-century women musicians and Jewish culture in the English Country House.
Covid Cartoons: Westminster’s Life Under Lockdown
Steve Marchant, Learning Coordinator and Senior Tutor at The Cartoon Museum, talks about a successful creative project he ran with youth groups during 2021-22.
Westminster’s Life Under Lockdown empowered young people with the basic skills needed for them to create their own cartoon chronicle of the issues they faced during the lockdowns we all endured. From missing friends and family to the importance of Netflix, their work forms part of a genuine historical record that has been published and distributed across Westminster, and around the world online.
Steve will be sharing some of the work produced, and will have free copies of volume two of the Lockdown comic to give away.
Following the talk, Steve will lead a fun, short workshop in which you too can produce your own Lockdown cartoons!