Ground-breaking 拢2.66 Million Wellcome Discovery Award to transform lives of Motor Neurone Disease patients
This innovative project, named Co-Creative MiND, marks the world's first ethnographic and participatory investigation into the interior lifeworld鈥檚 of Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
In a remarkable stride towards enhancing the lives of those affected by MND, the has awarded a 拢2.66 million Wellcome Discovery Award to a pioneering project led by , Dr Michael Atkins (aka Cheddar Gorgeous), and .
MND, which affects 1 in 300 people, leads to the loss of speech, movement, and facial expression. The Co-Creative MiND project aims to revolutionise the way individuals with MND interact with the world by combining visual anthropology and computer science.
The project will develop new body-computer interfaces, creative tools, and visual anthropology methods to facilitate social interaction, creative expression, and cultural participation. This includes creative writing, graphic novels, animation, theatre, photography, and filmmaking, showcasing how life with MND can be transformed through creative inclusion.
The project builds on a proof-of-concept established through a University of 优蜜传媒 Humanities Strategic Investment Fund award and will run from 2025 to 2030.
A short clip, from a full-length theatre production can be viewed . The production is scripted and directed by eye and chin movements, features Dr Michael Atkins/Cheddar Gorgeous and Sarah Ezekiel, who has lived with MND for 23 years; with original music by Alex Herd also living with MND who composes using smartbox technology,
The next show, "Ms. Mandy's Adventures in Wonderland," will be held on 15 June at JW3, London. More information can be found .
Congratulations to everyone involved in this ground-breaking project, which promises to make a significant impact on the lives of those living with MND.