Description of the Project
According to the data, cancer is second among the primary causes of early mortality in Kazakhstan. The number of cancer diagnoses in Kazakhstan exceeds 37,000 per year [1]. Despite all of the prevention measures in place to detect cancer early, people in Kazakhstan frequently receive advanced cancer diagnoses. Visual screening tools can identify some cancers, such as cervical, skin, and breast cancers, in their early stages. Still, people frequently wait until the disease has progressed before seeking medical care [2]. This emphasizes how urgent it is to deal with these problems.
In the middle of these difficulties, it becomes clear that precise targeting, specificity, and overall efficacy are just a few of the numerous challenges that cancer treatment faces. Chemotherapy, although being the most widely used form of cancer treatment, only has soothing effects and damages any rapidly dividing cells in the human system.
Referring to the obstacles faced with using chemotherapy in cancer treatment, our primary goal was to find an answer by utilizing synthetic biology's promise in pharmacological therapies. Our project involved the employment of modified bacteria encapsulated in a hydrogel with a particular goal of developing an innovative, localized, and controlled mechanism for delivering anti-cancer medications directly to solid carcinoma tumors.
One of the causes of the high rate of advanced cancer diagnoses in Kazakhstan is a lack of public awareness about cancer and the screening options accessible to people, particularly in remote regions [2]. To examine the issue of awareness, our team decided to survey students at Nazarbayev University. As a result, the survey was collected from 80 students.
The survey's findings show that 58.4% of respondents stated they had never been trained on cancer prevention and the value of routine check-ups for cancer patients, while 20.8% indicated that they faced. The remaining respondents gave hesitant or partial answers. Most of the students have difficulties understanding the nature of cancer and its prevention and treatment procedures. After receiving the survey results, we realized that we wanted to give the proper publicity to cancer treatment and spread awareness about new opportunities for cancer treatment with the help of our project to provide hope for the patients for treatment.
Fashion show with Sample Mag
We want to provide a long-lasting experience that goes beyond traditional limits by fusing the worlds of fashion and synthetic biology. In order to achieve this, we purposefully incorporated a fashion show in collaboration with Sample Mag as the exhibition's grand finale. This integration enables us to express the significance of our initiative and raise awareness about cancer treatment creatively and compellingly, which will appeal to a broader audience, making our exhibition a genuinely multi-dimensional event.
About the collaborative figure: Sample Magazine is a fashion community that was established on the grounds of Nazarbayev University by students who are passionate about high fashion and its relation to culture. Their goal is to promote and popularize style by giving aspiring fashion designers a platform, publishing a fashion magazine written and designed by the members, and creating engaging online content.
This professionally designed fashion show will convey a compelling message of sympathy for individuals who have been impacted by cancer. Moreover, Sample Mag designers reflect our team's dedication to locating viable cures through the usage of hydrogel-like material, bioplastic, in the clothes and accessories displayed in the show, just as our team uses hydrogel for medication transport into the human organism. All seven designed clothes will contain bioplastic representation.
1. The designer of the first clothes is Asel Khairzhanova, who represented the inner state of a patient who has cancer. “The scariest thing that happens to a person during illness is the loss of hope”.
2. Design of the second clothes made by Aruzhan Sagatova: The design is inspired by the circulatory system and its connection with life.
3. Diana Molzhigit represents the decay and consumption of the body of a person fighting with cancer.
4. Darina Kulbas design is the portrayal of the devouring of the body by illness and echoes of what was before this.
5. Fariza Kozhabayeva designed the expression of two sides of the same illness: the disease itself and hope for recovery by using a dark and bright color palette.
6. Batima Sabitova shows the design of the abundance of life and its cyclicality.
7. Symbat Karibaeva the abstract design that represents the ease and enjoyment of a healthy life without worries.
Link to the artworks document
Fashion show with Sample Mag
Concepts of exhibition: Inclusivity
Previously, for the first exhibition “In Vivo: Human Diversity”, it was known that only a few museums in Kazakhstan have complete accessibility features for those with visual impairments. Over the past few years, our team members have gathered a lot of expertise working with blind and visually impaired persons. So, we decided to stick to the conscious decision invested in the first exhibition: providing an inclusive and accessible space for individuals with visual impairments.
Our inclusive exhibition space includes the following significant components:
1. Braille Artwork Descriptions: Artwork descriptions are provided in Braille in order to ensure visually impaired visitors can comprehend and communicate with the displayed artwork.
2. Tactile Materials: Every material used in the show is tactile, allowing viewers to investigate and interact physically with the artwork.
3. Biomaterials, Fabrics, and Paper: The artworks themselves are made of biomaterials, textiles, and paper, ensuring that they are entirely safe for tactile exploration.
4. Accessible Fashion Show: For the advantage of people who are visually challenged, our exhibition's notable fashion show will be videotaped. Additionally, costumes will be on display later so that everyone in attendance may touch and engage with the creations.
In addition, the use of biodegradable materials in the fashion show serves as a painful reminder of the urgent need for eco-friendly items in our daily lives. We also support the sustainability principles upheld by the iGEM community, highlighting the significance of being environmentally conscious in all facets of our work.
Organization process
Three organizational steps were held for the process of implementing the Bio Art exhibition:
1. Discovering general attributes
This first action indicates a deliberate effort has been made to fully understand the fundamentals of developing an inclusive atmosphere and futuristic designs for the artworks. In order to accomplish this, we held weekly meetings with Sample Mag to come up with thoughts and ideas for the fashion show. To learn more about the artworks and the use of bioplastic, particularly in the context of hydrogel throughout the exhibition, we contacted with Dana Molzhigit, a biodesigner at UCL. In addition to the meetings with artists of the artworks, we gained comprehensive guidelines for designing accessible exhibitions for people with visual loss from the Dara foundation representatives at this stage of our work. As a result, we have made a special recipes of the bioplastic which will used in exhibition. The mood board of the visual theme of the fashion show was created and according to this the designers of Sample Mag started sketching and making design of clothes. After determining how the bio art exhibit may be made, we looked for possibilities to put all of the strategies above into practice.
2. Acquiring skills and resource exploration
This stage focuses on putting the chosen strategies into practice. Sample Mag team began developing drawings and sketches for the fashion show, sending them for our approval with the context of the exhibition. HIP (Human Integrated Practice) members participated in fundraising initiatives by reaching out to sponsors and collecting documents for the university student fund organization. PE (public engagement) members planned the marketing strategies of the bio art exhibition announcement, and making agreements with the university stuff regarding the organizational processes. As a result, the final designs of the Sample Mag designers were created and the artworks of the artists began to come to life. The data and organizational processes were discussed and ensured: there will be two openings for the exhibition. The first would take place at Nazarbayev University from October 21 to October 27, while the bigger one would take place in the spring at the Kulanshi Forte Bank artspace, the biggest and most prominent art venue in Kazakhstan.
3. Implementation and final adjustments
The implementation of the selected strategies and making sure everything is in line with the predicted objectives constitute the final stage. As the data of the bio art exhibition would be in October, there would be only expectation from the final results of our tremendous work. We paid a comprehensive and rigorous attention to detail, which is essential for delivering an inclusive experience, as indicated by the statement of gathering all exhibits, preparation of Braille descriptions and tactile materials for those who have visual impairments. Final fashion show will include the 8 designed clothes that will depict the essential topics around cancer treatment and its difficulties.
