Medical Museion wins communication award for 'The World is in You'

Medical Museion wins the communication award Formidlingsprisen 2022 for the exhibition project The World is in You. Blending science, contemporary art, and historical objects the exhibition explored how our bodies are connected to the world in and around us. On the themes of microbes, generations and time, the exhibition drew directly on science at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research (CBMR).

Karen Bech Jessen, spokesperson for the Association of Museum Communicators in Denmark (MiD) who award the prize, explained:

 "With their exhibition and dissemination project 'The World is in You, Medical Museion has managed in an exemplary way to convey something as difficult as new biomedical research. By including culture, art, history, biology, philosophy and several other disciplines, they have opened the door for the audience to new understandings of their body and its connection with the world. They have managed to convey complex knowledge, understanding and research in a very versatile, creative and serious combination which also shows that collaboration can strengthen communication.”

A unique biomedical-humanities collaboration

CBMR has a unique collaboration with humanities researchers through the Medical Museion, the University of Copenhagen's museum of medical history. They engage with CBMR through the research program Cardiometabolic Research in Society and Culture, supporting CBMR with a humanities perspective on their fundamental biomedical research, and translating discoveries into public outreach projects, such as The World is in You. In this case, the award-winning exhibition drew directly on biomedical science at CBMR in the fields of epigenetics, circadian biology and the microbiome.

The exhibition was curated by CBMR Associate Professor Adam Bencard and Postdoc Kristin Hussey, along with Medical Museion curator Malthe Kouassi Bjerregaard and Dr Jacob Lillemose. On behalf of the team, Adam Bencard expressed delight at receiving the award:

"The world is in you was a major experiment in Medical Museion's ongoing work to disseminate new biomedical research at the intersections of science, art, culture and history. The World is in You is a contribution to important contemporary discussions about the relationship between humans and their environments, between body and world. It takes its point of departure in new research that opens up big questions and new perspectives on how we are shaped by and entangled with the world around us – in very material and embodied ways. We believe that these kinds of interdisciplinary and broad discussions about research and society are both urgent and important, and we are extremely happy and excited to win this communication award.”

Behind the exhibition

The exhibition and wider project were been made possible through generous support from the Novo Nordisk Foundation's thematic programme on education and outreach, the Velux Foundation, the Bikuben Foundation, the Beckett Foundation, the Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansen Foundation, and the Espen and Tanja Neergaard Dinesen’s Foundation. Kunsthal Charlottenborg’s exhibition program is supported by The Augustinus Foundation, The Danish Arts Foundation, and The Obel Family Foundation.

The World is in You was curated by the  Medical Museion, part of the Department of Public Health and the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research (CBMR) at the University of Copenhagen. It was produced in collaboration with Kunsthal Charlottenborg.

About Medical Museion

Medical Museion researches, collects, and preserves medical history and culture. The museum is a part of the Department of Public Health and Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, in the Faculty for Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. Medical Museion produces prizewinning exhibitions, and regularly hosts events that bring new research in medicine and health into focus. 

About MiD - The Association of Museum Communicators in Denmark 

MiD is a national association whose purpose is to promote, develop and publicize museum communication – including exhibitions and education at Danish museums and other cultural institutions.

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