Culture Talk: How TB Sculpted Modernism

The Leicester TB Research Group is pleased to host this special event to mark World Tuberculosis (TB) Day – a global annual event to raise awareness and reflect on the continuing health impact of this deadly infectious disease on society, and recognise the tireless contribution of those working to overcome the challenge.

In this edition of Attenborough Arts Centre’s Culture Talks series, which brings leading academics and artists together in dialogue, we are delighted to present a screening of Other Actors – a new film piece by internationally-acclaimed UK artist Ilona Sagar. Other Actors explores the links between bodies and buildings, health and architecture through the lens of the Paimio Sanatorium in Finland.

Designed by Alvar and Aino Aalto and completed between 1929 and 1933, the sanatorium represents a radical shift in the design for health. Conceived as an “instrument for healing”, the Aaltos proposed an architecture designed not for the verticality of the healthy body but for the horizontal perspective of the sick. At the time of filming, the sanatorium is at a significant moment in its transition from hospital to a new purpose. As restoration progresses, the film examines its status as a building in flux.

Featuring prominent theorists Beatriz Colomina, Heini Hakosalo, and Peter Stadius, Other Actors asks us to consider what we do with the architectural legacies of modernism that linger in our cultural imaginary, and how we can platform those who would normally be hidden behind its visual facades.

Other Actors is informed by a collaboration with the Tuberculosis Research Group at the University of Leicester. Ilona Sagar was hosted by the group during the development of the project. Drawing on the work of TB treatment delivery teams and associated research groups in Leicester, the film foregrounds an urgent contemporary perspective on a disease often thought to be a relic of the past. This is important for us locally as Leicester City is a national hotspot for TB. At the University of Leicester, our Leicester TB Research Group have been a strong local advocate, working in partnership with Leicester Hospitals, Leicester City Council and our local community to deliver research that will improve care for our patients and beyond.

Other Actors is commissioned by Stanley Picker Gallery, Kingston University and The Saastamoinen Foundation with additional support from The Aalto Foundation and Goldsmiths University London.