Part of the ethos of LivingBodiesObjects was to lay the foundations for longer-term collaborations. The team are delighted that we’ve been able to keep working closely with our core partners after the end of the funded period of LBO.
The residency with the Bhopal Medical Appeal was focused on the development of a new story about the long-term environmental, social, and personal legacy of the disaster. This has led to the launch of Beneath the Surface: Inside the Enduring Violence of Bhopal’s Two Diasasters. Created using Shorthand, an interactive storytelling platform, it features new interviews, fresh data, original artwork, striking photography, and interactive maps. The story draws attention to the ongoing impact of contaminated water supplies in Bhopal, and forms a major part of the BMA’s campaigns.
Connected to this, an exhibition about Bhopal developed during the LBO project, Bhopal’s Ongoing Water Disaster, will form part of the Brighton Fringe 2026. It will be shown at the Phoenix Art Space, Brighton, from Wednesday 20th May to Sunday 24th May, and invites visitors to learn more about this urgent environmental injustice and the voices calling for change.
Reflecting the strength and depth of this collaboration, the academic residency lead, Professor Clare Barker, has been named as a new trustee of the BMA. Her appointment will support longer-term partnership work and enable ongoing dialogue to support the BMA in their advocacy and fundraising.
Meanwhile, the Thackray Museum of Medicine – our final residency partner – have also been building on our collaborative work. They are developing a groundbreaking Collections CoLab space, which was directly inspired by the activities and approach of LBO. Collections CoLab forms a central pillar of the museum’s long-term ambition to democratise its collection – bringing untold stories to light, amplifying underrepresented voices, and making its resources more accessible to wider audiences through creative partnership.
To support this, the Thackray have secured a major grant from the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, with the new space set to open in early 2027.