Author: hwayoung

The interdisciplinary Flow.Walk.Drag. research team, led by Dr. Natalie Beveridge, made a significant impact at the Microbiology Society Annual Conference held in Liverpool this month (31 March – 3 April).

Groundbreaking Research Poster Presentation

On April 1st, the team presented their innovative research poster titled “Drag Performance as a Methodology for Exploring Human-Microbe Relations: A Case Study of Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli.”

The project challenges traditional science communication methods by employing drag performance art to explore the complex relationships between humans and microbes. Rather than using unidirectional knowledge transfer, this approach creates space for deeper engagement with microbial worlds and their influence on human history and public health.

Dr. Beveridge explains: “Drag is a scientific method that reconsiders relationality. It puts human and non-human bodies and the transmission of information all under the microscope, allowing us to engage with difficult topics in a creative way.”Dr. Alifuoco adds: “Our work with Flow.Walk.Drag. demonstrates how performance methodologies can disrupt traditional hierarchies in scientific knowledge production, enabling horizontal information transmission and non-human perspectives.”

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Two poem by one of our Liverpool participants, Ebtisam Elghblawi, who was inspired by our conversations to write verse .

Merseyside winds

In the old Mersey 
Where tides blow so high menacing
Breaking space and time
Disrupting the content of life 
When wells and tapes scream out loud 
In the silent water flow 
Impounded souls 
A crafted cry, to burn the house
A tale of explosive purging 
Where souls were stitched 
In Liverpool docks 
Cholera crept and knitted unseen 
Born a filthy stream
A storytelling of mended wounds 
Grave robbing - emboldened corpse dissecting 
A deadly sip in the dark shadow casting 

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Our second workshop started with some string figures, winding twine back to remember how we ended up at the Winter Garden on a Saturday afternoon. Continuing with the theme of remembrance, the group shared stories of personal objects that held a strong connection with water. 

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A ripple of excitement at the H2O Symposium, where our project made waves with our participatory water quiz! From Panama Canal histories to cholera cabaret, speakers and artists dove deep into Liverpool’s complex relationship with water. Such a joy to see students, academics, and community members swimming in ideas together – from invisible waterways to contemporary ecological activism. We were happy to reveal a teaser of our Cholera Cabaret.

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