Join us for a multi-voice conversation with Kirsten Ostherr, Dr. Ricardo Nuila, and the exhibiting artist Berenice Olmedo. Organized in conjunction with the exhibition Bio Morphe and in partnership with the Medical Humanities Program at Rice University, this interdisciplinary conversation will explore the crossover between art disciplines and the field of medicine, touching on innovations in both areas of study.

About the participants:

Berenice Olmedo (b. 1987, Oaxaca, Mexico; based in Mexico City, Mexico) is known for her sculptures and kinetic objects, in which she often integrates prostheses and orthotics. Her fusions of body parts challenge the notion of human wholeness and draw attention to the political dimensions of disability, illness, and care. The artist engages with standardized expectations of our bodies and explores the extent to which external aids are
essential to human existence. By reusing forms and materials from the medical field, she challenges the pursuit of efficiency and seamless perfection in favor of a more physical, political, and existential contemporary experience. After graduating from the Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, Olmedo participated in a study program at SOMA in Mexico City.

Kirsten Ostherr, PhD, MPH is the Gladys Louise Fox Professor of English and founding Director of the new Medical Humanities Research Institute, one of the only research institutes in the world that is solely dedicated to advancing translational research on human experiences of health and illness. She is also founding Director of the Medical Humanities program (2016-present) and the Medical Futures Lab (2012-present) at Rice University in Houston, Texas. She recently served as Chair of the English Department (2020-2023). Ostherr is a media scholar, health researcher, and technology analyst.

Dr. Ricardo Nuila, M.D. ‘06, is a practicing internal medicine doctor and hospitalist serving at Ben Taub Hospital in Houston, Texas. He serves as an associate professor of medicine, medical ethics and health policy at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Nuila also is the director of the Humanities Expression and Arts Lab program at Baylor, which develops educational materials and experiences that weave the arts and humanities into medical education. Over his career as a practicing physician, Dr. Nuila’s first-hand experiences have fueled his writing on health disparities, healthcare policy and the interface between art and medicine.