Injecting Hope, a free exhibition opening at the Museum on Friday 19 July, which looks at the response to COVID-19 and the race to develop a vaccine.
It will explore the worldwide effort to develop vaccines at pandemic speed, uncovering the inspiring stories of scientists and innovators around the globe who collaborated to tackle the world-wide COVID-19 challenge.
The exhibition will also examine the unique experiences and responses of communities in Manchester to the pandemic through objects and stories on display for the first time.
Visitors can explore an incredible variety of objects, artworks and personal accounts that illustrate the global effort to develop vaccines. From examining the virus itself to recognising the work done behind the scenes by volunteers, researchers and other individuals who made huge innovations possible, this free exhibition showcases more than 100 objects and stories that were collected during the peak of the pandemic.
Highlights include the vial of the first COVID-19 vaccine to be administered worldwide, personal items belonging to those at the heart of its development and breath-taking pieces by artists Angela Palmer and Junko Mori to help visitors visualise the virus.
As well as exploring the COVID-19 response on a global scale, for the first time during its run in the city, Injecting Hope will feature accounts and objects from the people and organisations who helped to mobilise Manchester against COVID-19 and highlight the exceptional circumstances experienced by its communities.
A star object is Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham’s dark navy worker’s jacket, which has been loaned from People’s History Museum to be displayed for the first time as part of a major exhibition. In autumn 2020 Greater Manchester faced tough restrictions as COVID-19 cases increased. While wearing a dark navy worker’s jacket, Burnham addressed the media and called for more financial aid for the city region’s communities. The jacket became a symbol of the hardships experienced during the pandemic and the unity of the North West.
Other never-before-displayed objects that tell the story of Manchester’s unique experience of the pandemic and innovative healthcare developed and delivered in the city include an NHS Nightingale Hospital North West bed – one of the 750 innovative flat-pack beds used inside Manchester Central Convention Complex when it transformed into the North West’s Nightingale Hospital to provide additional support to the NHS.
There are objects from Rates Hall vaccine centre that tell the story of the volunteers who were attempting to safeguard the community into the future through the roll out of the vaccine.
This historic building in the heart of the city was repurposed as a vaccine centre during the pandemic to support efforts to vaccinate higher numbers of younger residents living in Manchester and portraits of healthcare workers from Ancoats-based Urban Village Medical Practice who helped to administer the vaccine to those in the city with no fixed address.
Virustatic Shield – a washable and reusable face mask developed by Paul Hope and the University of Manchester will be on display and a
A specially commissioned video created by Manchester-based youth group, HideOut Youth Zone, showcasing the reflections of young people about the pandemic and looking into what the future now holds.
Andrea Lathrop, Associate Curator of Exhibitions at the Science and Industry Museum, said: “We hope this incredible exhibition not only provides eye-opening insights into how science was employed to find solutions to the COVID-19 challenge, but plenty of empowering moments for visitors to explore engaging content and to reflect on their own unique experiences of the pandemic. The new Manchester-focused content that has been introduced offers a poignant opportunity for joint reflection, as well as moments to celebrate the ingenuity, resilience and selflessness of the people in this special city.
“Injecting Hope is a people-centred exhibition that shines a light on those behind the headlines who innovated vaccine science, sat in bed on their laptops, volunteered in vaccine centres and exposed themselves to the virus day after day to keep us safe. Collaboration was, and remains, vital in combating this truly global issue, and we’re delighted to have collaborated with so many incredible individuals to tell this story.”
Injecting Hope builds on the fascinating and important work the Science Museum Group (which the Science and Industry Museum belongs to) has undertaken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its COVID-19 collecting project, hosting NHS vaccination centres within its museums and public engagement events and materials.
The exhibition comes to the Science and Industry Museum as part of a national and international tour following its inaugural run at the Science Museum in London. It forms part of a project with the National Council of Science Museums in India and the Guangdong Science Center in China, which opened exhibitions simultaneous with the Science Museum in November 2022.
