Supper Club: Sanatorium

Supper Club: Sanatorium, held at Arts House on the last evening of Refuge 2018, was a collaboration between myself and artist Lizzy Sampson.

This future-focused Refuge edition of Supper Club, brought people together  to gather for collective convalescence and seek refuge in the Sanatorium, as we reflect on all that we have survived so far, and ready ourselves for what lies ahead. Participants sat with an indigenous futurist, an epidemiologist, an HIV activist, an AI expert, a neo-peasant, an emergency responder, an ethicist, and a herbalist to explore ethical survival, collective preparedness and potential worlds.

Over a shared meal, we imagined our indigenous-led futures; learned about how diseases move and spread; discussed how Artificial Intelligence can forecast pandemics; learnt about on-ground epidemic response; heard first-hand about living with HIV; and learnt how we can increase our community immunity.

Artists:
Lizzy Sampson & Asha Bee Abraham

Topics & Hosts:
Indigenous Futurism – Maddee Clark, University of Melbourne
Prevention & Preparedness –Kylie Carville, Doherty Institute for Infection & Immunity
Herbs & Healing – Rasha Tayeh, Artist & Herbalist
HIV & Vulnerability – Susan Paxton, Living Positive
Pandemic response – Damien Moloney, Red Cross
Collective Preparedness – Patrick Jones, Artist as Family
Ethics & Disease – Bridget Pratt, University of Melbourne
AI & Outbreak Forecasting – Nic Geard, University of Melbourne

Learn more about the Supper Club: Sanatorium hosts here.

Catering:
Spade to Blade

Tea:
Beit e’Shai

Images:
Bryony Jackson