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Saturday, April 15, 2017

Shadowpox in Toronto

Technical director LaLaine Ulit-Destajo, Theatre@York technician James McQuay and I brought the Shadowpox project to its North American debut this week at a symposium hosted by the Art and Science of Immunization working group at the University of Toronto's Jackman Humanities Institute, in conjunction with Public Health Ontario.

Public Health Ontario published an in-depth review, "Building Bridges: The Art and Science of Immunization Symposium":
This event explored the breadth of perspectives on immunization issues and how those in arts and science fields can work together to address them. A major focus of the day was on vaccine hesitancy. There was significant discussion around how a humanities approach can inform how we communicate with the public and weave a narrative to help bridge the gap between science and the public. Attendees were a diverse mix, with backgrounds in fields such as immunology, epidemiology, history, English, anthropology and even theatre studies.... 
Allison Humphrey, a PhD student in Cinema and Media Arts from York University, introduced her interactive motion capture game, Poxémon. Players users use their arms and legs to fight off the “shadowpox” disease that attacks the individual, meanwhile trying to protect 100 other characters on the screen from infection. This game helps players to understand how infectious diseases can spread in a population, or be protected by vaccination. Attendees had the opportunity to demo the game during breaks.
Their video even includes footage (at 0:40) of Shadowpox in action:










Read the full post for more Tweets from the symposium...



















Immunity Warriors - CBC Ottawa News from Cameron Bell on Vimeo.












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