25 May 2010

Following on from the sell out success of last year's event, Wellcome Collection is delighted to be returning with Quacks and Cures - an unusual, quirky and entertaining evening of quack doctors and medical cures from the 19th through 21st centuries.

Quacks and Cures: Friday 4 June 2010, 19.00-23.00
Venue: Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE
Admission: FREE

A Friday evening extravaganza, this event is a dynamic mix of performance, interactive displays, talks, discussions and hands-on activities taking place across four floors of Wellcome Collection on Euston Road central London.

Beginning on the ground floor, the evening will spread throughout the four corners of the building with a range of informative and off-the-wall activities including: a 'quack band' whipping up a storm by performing the opening fanfare; a resident quack doctor curing all by beneficial remedies; a live leech demonstration where you will have the chance to handle them and learn about their use in reconstructive surgery; illuminating talks exploring topics such as London's healing spas and wells, the economics and politics behind medical evidence including a guest appearance of popular science writer and broadcaster Professor Simon Singh; an exploration of 'home remedies' where you can contribute your own remedies to the bizarre collection, be it vinegar, toothpaste or vodka; as well the visit to the doctor's consultation room to receive a diagnosis from three expert physicians of different historic periods.

The event will also be accompanied by a rolling series of public health information films from the Wellcome Library, and 'restorative tonics' will be available at the bars throughout the evening.

Curator of the Quacks and Cures event Alex Julyan explains: "Quacks and Cures offers an alternative and stimulating way to spend a Friday evening. With many surprises scattered throughout the impressive spaces of the Wellcome Collection, this year's event will contain some of the same components as last year's spectacle. The live leech demonstration and doctor's consultation room are back by popular demand and some interesting additions include medicine in sea battles and a formidable panel of evidence experts including Simon Singh."

Ken Arnold, Head of Public Programmes at the Wellcome Trust, comments: "We had a tremendous response to last year's event, in which the audience were confronted with the relationship between past and present approaches to diagnosis and treatment. The event is a celebration of the weird, marvellous and downright fraudulent in medicine's past, asking us how much has changed today."

The term 'quack' originally emerged in the 18th century as a derogatory term applied by apothecaries to unqualified medical practitioners, who plied their trade through 'speechifying' or 'quacking' in public places.

Although 'quackery' remained popular throughout the 19th century, the Medical Act of 1858 introduced more robust regulation. Despite this, the quack continued to play a valuable role in the development of medical practice, forcing change through bold and occasionally reckless innovation.

Quacks and Cures aims to present a snapshot of some of the opinions and ideas threaded through three centuries of medical history. The event is free to all and no booking is required.

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Notes to editors

Media contact
Mike Findlay
Senior Media Officer (Wellcome Collection)
T 020 7611 8612
E m.findlay@wellcome.ac.uk

Alex Julyan is a London-based visual artist and producer who makes sculptures and site-specific work from found and ephemeral media. She also collaborates on large-scale events involving performers, musicians, artists and audiences. Her diverse interests have led to projects inspired by language, history and architecture. 'Quacks and Cures' is her first foray into the medical world.

The Wellcome Trust is a global charity dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. It supports the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. The Trust's breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. It is independent of both political and commercial interests.

The Wellcome Trust's former headquarters, the Wellcome Building on London's Euston Road, has been redesigned by Hopkins Architects to become a new £30 million public venue. Free to all, Wellcome Collection explores the connections between medicine, life and art in the past, present and future. The building comprises three galleries, a public events space, the Wellcome Library, a cafe, a bookshop, conference facilities and a members' club.