We’re all pieces of the puzzle!
Through a series of workshops our group of researchers, technical staff and people living with and affected by a blood-borne virus (BBV) agreed we were all part of a giant puzzle which makes up the fight against these viruses!
This led us to the co-creation of an artwork made up of hexagon puzzle-piece tiles which represent the the part we feel we play as individuals, and how we fit into the greater picture.
The first artwork was installed by participants at the CVR, which supported everyone to feel that a piece of them was represented within the Centre and the research carried out there.
We have continued to run our puzzle piece workshops, with a new set to be installed at the University of Edinburgh in October 2024.
Workshop 1: June 2022
After over a year of working together online, we all joined together in person for a creative workshop led by our lead artist and facilitator Alice Haskell.
After lunch, Alice led everyone through some creative ice-breakers before introducing the puzzle piece concept. She then supported people to explore their own contribution to the fight against blood-borne viruses (BBV), as well as reflecting on their own lived experience of living with or working with a BBV.
At lunch we also encouraged people to share songs in response to certain prompts e.g. a song that makes you happy or a song that got you through a hard time. We added all these suggestions into a playlist which you can listen to here - Unseen Hands Playlist.
Installation Event 1: May 2023
On this day we invited our puzzle piece workshop participants to join us and install their tile onto the magnetic wall in the Centre. We were also joined by folks interested in joining the project as well as friends of participants, and other researchers from the CVR.
We encouraged each person to share something about their tile if they felt comfortable, before placing it onto the wall. Following the installation we enjoyed a lunch, and everyone had the opportunity for a short tour of the Centre. We also had a puzzle piece crafting table for anyone who would like to contribute a tile to the wall.
Workshop 2: October 2023
On this day we invited our puzzle piece workshop participants to join us and install their tile onto the magnetic wall in the Centre. We were also joined by folks interested in joining the project as well as friends of participants, and other researchers from the CVR.
We encouraged each person to share something about their tile if they felt comfortable, before placing it onto the wall. Following the installation we enjoyed a lunch, and everyone had the opportunity for a short tour of the Centre. We also had a puzzle piece crafting table for anyone who would like to contribute a tile to the wall.
