Workshop
Yams, hormones and bioprospecting: from Buffelskloof to Beeston
From: 15th February 2020 1:00 pm
To: 15th February 2020 3:00 pm
Bromley House Library
Angel RowCéline Siani Djiakoua, resident artist at Bromley House Library for 2020, is organising a series of workshops and talks relating to her research into the 19th century collection of travel books and autobiographies. Her first guest is Rebecca Beinart.
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About
Throughout the 1950s, Boots were importing 100s of tons of a remarkable looking, exotic sounding tuber from South Africa to Nottingham – the Elephant’s Foot Yam. They were using this as an essential starting material for the production of cortisone, which had recently been discovered as a new ‘wonder drug’. Join us for a hands-on workshop to uncover this story and its connection to indigenous knowledge, colonial plant-hunting, pharmaceutical drugs, and conservation, and explore recipes and records from the archive.
Through a practical activity, participants are invited to work directly with material from the archives – bringing these histories into dialogue with contemporary experiences of hormones and health.
