Wellcome Collection Listings: September-December 2008
22 August 2008
Wellcome Collection special exhibitions 2008
Skeletons: London's buried bones (until 28 September 2008)
The Museum of London has approximately 17 000 skeletons in its care, all removed for their preservation from building sites in different parts of London. This exhibition will present 26 of these skeletons, along with all the information about their health and likely social circumstances that can be gleaned from the location in which they were found and from a detailed analysis of their bones. The skeletons featured include some dating back to Roman times and many that reveal a great deal about the health and social conditions of the period in which they lived.
War and Medicine (22 November 2008-15 February 2009)
The third major special exhibition at Wellcome Collection and, following 'Sleeping & Dreaming', the second devised in collaboration with The Museum of Man (Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden). 'War and Medicine' will assess the impact and influence that warfare and medicine have had on one another. It looks at the way humanity's desire to repair and heal has tried to keep pace with its capacity to maim and kill, meeting sometimes with success and sometimes with failure. As with 'Sleeping & Dreaming', this exhibition will include the perspectives of artists, writers and film-makers as well as those of medical scientists and social historians.
All temporary exhibitions are supported by a series of public events that enable people to discover more about the subjects they cover. Events are free unless otherwise stated. All tickets must be booked in advance from Wellcome Collection events pages.
Wellcome Collection permanent galleries
Wellcome Collection's permanent galleries are a 'must-see' on London's cultural map. Where else can you see a Peruvian mummy sitting alongside Florence Nightingale's slippers and Napoleon's toothbrush? The two permanent galleries are:
Medicine Man (350 m2): This exhibition contains more than 500 strange and beautiful artefacts from Sir Henry Wellcome's original collection, presented in a rich American walnut-panelled gallery, centred on a large 'Wunderkammer' cabinet.
Medicine Now (350 m2): The 'Medicine Now' exhibition explores contemporary medical topics through the eyes of scientists, artists and popular culture in a bright contemporary environment.
Admissions
Admission to Wellcome Collection is free. Charges may apply for some special events. Under-14s must be accompanied by an adult.
Opening hours:
Monday 10.00-18.00 (Galleries closed, except public holidays)
Tuesday 10.00-18.00
Wednesday 10.00-18.00
Thursday 10.00-22.00 (Library until 20.00)
Friday 10.00-18.00
Saturday 10.00-18.00 (Library until 16.00)
Sunday 11.00-18.00 (Library closed)
Wellcome Collection events
Unless otherwise stated tickets are FREE and must be booked in advance.
For information and bookings visit the Wellcome Collection events pages or call 020 7611 2222.
Thursday 11 September, 19.00-20.30
Face Values
Defining, refining and rebuilding the faces we are born with
One in 150 people in Britain have a facial disfigurement and around one million people sustain facial injuries each year. In this talk we will discuss the impact that facial deformity can have on an otherwise normal life and explore what is both possible and acceptable when it comes to recreating the human face.
Join our guests, James Partridge, who suffered traumatic burns in a car accident and went on to found Changing Faces, and Alex Clarke, from the Royal Free Hospital, which has ethical permission to perform the first face transplant in the UK, to discuss the issues surrounding facial disfigurement and reconstructive surgery.
The event will begin with an excerpt from the film 'Saving Faces' by artist Mark Gilbert. This powerful film is about his painting of patients undergoing reconstructive facial surgery under the care of Iain Hutchinson, consultant in Oral and Maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) at St Bartholomew's and the Royal London Hospital.
This event is part of a series exploring identity and change. Further events on 9 October, 13 November, 11 December and 29 January.
Friday 26-Sunday 28 September
Drawing on Life
The Big Draw Launch 2008
Celebrate drawing and life in this three-day interactive festival, brought to you by the Campaign for Drawing, Bow Arts Trust, University College London and Wellcome Collection. 'Drawing on Life' is a weekend of more than 40 events and activities focusing on creativity in science, art and life. Animators and sculptors, neurologist and geneticists invite you to explore what it means to be human through screenings, talks, performances, workshops and tutorials.
Everyone is welcome at any time. There are 'drop-in' events and others you can sign up for on the day of your visit. For further details of events visit the ‘Drawing on Life’ website.
Dates and times:
Friday 26 September (launch): Wellcome Collection, 19.00-22.00
Saturday 27 September: UCL and Wellcome Collection, 11.00-17.00
Sunday 28 September: Wellcome Collection, 11.00-17.00
Thursday 2 October, 19.00-20.30
Writing and Consciousness
How do poetry and fiction communicate what it is to be human?
Novelist Ian McEwan and psychologist Nicholas Humphrey will discuss the art and science of investigating conscious experience - asking whether there really are limits to what we can discover and describe about the inner world of others. Join them to explore how poetry and fiction can communicate what it is like to be a human being.
Speakers:
Ian McEwan, author of 'On Chesil Beach' and 'Saturday'
Nicholas Humphrey, London School of Economics
Facilitator:
Oliver Morton, Editor-in-Chief, Nature
Saturday 4 and Saturday 11 October, 11.00-13.00
Life and Death by Water
A guided walk along the medieval Thames
With Mark Pilkington, Strange Attractor Press.
For the inhabitants of medieval London, crammed into an area defined by the city walls of Roman Londinium and without sewers or fresh water, staying healthy was big business. Follow the ebb and flow of the Thames - London's lifeline, but also the bringer of filth and disease - and with it the ebb and flow of sickness and cure. Discover the sights, sounds and stomach-churning smells of the medieval riverside, from the butchery of surgeons to the learned hopelessness of physicians and the fiery end of the medieval city.
Please note that this walk starts at Mansion House Tube station and ends at Monument Tube station.
Saturday 11 and Saturday 18 October, 11.00-13.00
In the Footsteps of Daniel Defoe
A guided journey through the 'Plague Year'
With Alice Ford-Smith, Principle Librarian, Dr Williams's Library.
The Great Plague of 1665-6 is the most infamous episode in London's medical history. In his 'Journal of the Plague Year', published in 1722, Daniel Defoe - an archetypal Londoner - memorialised the sufferings of the city he loved. His fictional avatar 'H.F.' will be your guide, as you weave the story of the Great Plague with Defoe's life as satirist, rebel, convict and spy.
Please note that this walk starts at Tower Hill Tube station and ends at Moorgate Tube station.
Saturday 4 and Saturday 18 October, 11.00-13.00
Gallows, Ghosts and Golden Boys
A guided walk through a day in the life of an 18th-century medical student
With Richard Barnett, author of 'Medical London: City of Disease, City of Cures'.
Can you keep up with the hectic life of a London medical student at the dawn of the Enlightenment? Breakfast on the steps of Apothecaries' Hall, buy your textbooks at the book market in the shadow of St Paul's, lunch in a tavern overlooking the gallows of Newgate prison, choose a cadaver from the hanged murderers and snatched bodies on show in the basement of the local pub, and dissect it in St Bartholomew's Medical School, and round off your day with a visit to the haunted house on Cock Lane.
Please note that this walk starts at Blackfriars Tube station and ends at the Museum of London.
Sunday 12 and Sunday 19 October, 11.00-13.00
Tall Ships and Tropical Diseases
A guided walk through medicine and the British empire in Greenwich
With Ross MacFarlane, archivist, Wellcome Library.
Until the mid-20th century London was one of the world's largest ports. Trade with other nations and our empire brought fabulous wealth, intoxicating power and new medicines, but ships also returned with less welcome discoveries such as cholera and typhoid. Walk in the footsteps of naval surgeons, merchants, tars and astronomers, as you trace the relationship between medicine and the powerful British impulse to trade and conquer.
Please note that this circular walk starts and ends at Cutty Sark Tube station.
Sunday 5 and Sunday 19 October, 18.30-20.30
Pox and Pleasure
A guided night walk through Soho
With Mike Jay, editor of 'Medical London: City of Diseases, City of Cures'.
By day, Soho contains many worlds - the rag trade, the film business, high fashion and high art - but by night it presents its age-old face as London's pleasure hub, offering entertainment, intoxication and sex. A night stroll brings to life centuries of raucous thrill-seeking, and of the medical characters who have always lurked in its shadow, some offering discreet cures for over-indulgence, others campaigning to cleanse the city of its filth. Follow in the footsteps of William Hunter, John Snow and some less savoury characters to uncover the story of medicine and disease in the grubby heart of the West End.
Please note that this walk starts at Tottenham Court Road Tube station (Exit 4, Centre Point) and ends at Piccadilly Circus Tube station.
Sunday 5 and Sunday 12 October, 11.00-13.00
From Homeopaths to Psychopaths
A guided walk through bohemian medicine in Chelsea
With Max Decharne, author.
Behind the Georgian facades and leafy mews of London's most exclusive postcode have lurked artistic excess, disease, mania and some of the richest doctors in Britain. Discover the light and dark sides of the Royal Borough, from Hans Sloane's elegant Physic Garden and the beginning of alternative medicine to the decadent, diseased pre-Raphaelites and the gruesome triumphs of forensic pathology.
Please note that this walk starts at Sloane Square Tube station and ends at South Kensington Tube station
Saturday 18 October 12.00-17.00
City of Diseases, City of Cures
Explore medicine in London through talks, demonstrations and tours
A day of events to celebrate the history of medicine in London. Bringing together artists, scientists, historians and broadcasters to explore the health and wellbeing of the capital.
No booking necessary. Drop in at any time.
Highlights include:
Out Loud, 13.00-16.30
A reading by John Newling in relation to his project, 'Make a Piano in Spain'.
'Out Loud' is the first public reading of the 500 texts collected in response to the question, “what do you do to make yourself feel better?” The act of saying something out loud can seem to transform the materiality of the text. The 'Out Loud' event will be a reading of a very human diagnosis - funny, revealing and moving.
Thursday 9 October, 19.00-20.30
The Myths of Dementia
Who am I if I can't remember?
Many people are afraid of losing their memory as they grow older. But as the population ages, the number of people living with dementia is set to rise. This timely and revealing discussion will transform the way you think about memory loss and open your mind to new ways of dealing with dementia.
This talk will consider the connection between identity and memory and the experience of dementia. You'll learn about exciting new forms of treatment for people with Alzheimer's disease that use art, music and the environment to stir memories, enliven minds and improve the quality of life.
Join our guests, John Killick, writer and founder of Dementia Positive, and John Zeisel, founder of Hearthstone Alzheimer's Family Foundation, which has developed an innovative and non-pharmacological approach to dementia care that is being adopted worldwide. Together they will help us to see how people with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders can have positive and fulfilling experiences.
This event is part of a series exploring identity and change. Further events on 11 September, 13 November, 11 December and 29 January.
Wednesday 29 October, 19.00-21.30
Supper Club
An evening with Mark Lythgoe and Einstein's brain
We launch our Supper Club series with a special evening of creativity, imagination and science. The recipe for genius has been one of society's most alluring quests. Can neuroscience help us define and understand this phenomenon? Join neuroscientist Mark Lythgoe and his extraordinary prop - a piece of Einstein's brain - to investigate the nature of genius and talent in science.
£25 including two-course dinner and two glasses of wine.
To book please call 020 7611 2222
Thursday 30 October, 19.00-21.00
Power
Charisma and authority in medical practice
From the charismatic faith healer to the heroic consultant to the unassuming charm of Dr Harold Shipman, this evening of provocative discussion reflects on the complex web of power dynamics at play between doctor and patient.
How has the power of the medical profession been celebrated, mediated, manufactured, represented, harnessed or abused through history? How do doctors perform their power and how much does this performance respond to the patient's need for authority? Do we actually want our doctors to play god?
Speakers:
Faith McLellan, Senior Editor, the 'Lancet'
Thomas Csordas, Department of Anthropology, University of California, San Diego
Brian Hurwitz, Professor of Medicine and the Arts, King's College London
Elaine Showalter, author of 'The Female Malady' and 'Hystories'.
This event is part of the ‘Performing Medicine’ season, brought to you by the Clod Ensemble in association with Barts and The London, Queen Mary School of Medicine and Dentistry and the Department of Drama at Queen Mary, University of London.
Further events in this series at Wellcome Collection on 4 December.
Thursday 13 November, 19.00-20.30
Divided Yet Whole
Exploring the special nature of being a twin
What does it mean to be a twin? We explore the experience of twinship and the importance of twins in research. To what extent do our genes determine our personality? How much effect does parental rearing have on the personalities of children?
The fascination with twins is as old as time, and with an increase in the twinning rate this talk provides a timely look at the world of twins, relationships and human behaviour. As behavioural genetics enters its second century, we look at how twin studies allow us to measure the influence of genes, experience, diet and environment on our lives.
Together with award-winning novelist Michele Roberts and behavioural geneticist Lynn Cherkas, both twins themselves, we will explore the joys, traumas and challenges of being a half.
The evening will begin with the first film in Jordan Baseman's trilogy: 'Nature's Great Experiment', incorporating interviews with world-renowned behavioural geneticist Professor Terrie Moffitt and her Twin Research Team from the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London.
This event is part of a series exploring identity and change. Further events on 11 September, 9 October, 11 December and 29 January.
Friday 14 November, 19.00-22.00
Materials Library Presents 'Hair'
We are all obsessed with hair, whether we trying grow it on one part of our body or get rid of it in another. It helps us keep warm, to hear sound, to express our emotions; it expresses our health, our desires, our state or mind and our cultural background. This is an event for those curious about where and why all this has come about. It is an opportunity to touch, examine, smell, cut, shave and even taste hair. It is an opportunity to talk to experts in hair, such as dermatologists, beauticians, biologists, hair dressers, psychologists, wig makers, materials scientists and clothes makers, and so to explore hair in all its forms and its connection with human culture and medicine.
No booking necessary. Drop in at any time.
Materials Library
Materials Library is a group that explores the beauty, strangeness and science of matter. They are materials scientist Mark Miodownik, artist Zoe Laughlin, and designer Martin Conreen. It is a collection of some of the most extraordinary materials on Earth, such as a chunk of aerogel from NASA that, at 99.8% air, is the worlds lightest solid and is used to collect space dust; a tile of aluminium nitride that conducts the heat from one's hand efficiently enough to cut ice like butter; a vial of a totally inert fluorocarbon liquid into which one can place any electronic equipment while continuing to operate it, without any ill effects. These materials are gathered together not only for scientific interest, but for their ability to fire the imagination and advance conceptualisation. For more information visit the Materials Library website.
Wednesday 19 November, 19.00-21.30
Supper Club
An evening with Arthur I. Miller and Picasso
We continue our Supper Club series with a special evening of creativity and imagination in art and science. Join science historian Arthur I. Miller as he discusses 'Bernal's Picasso', which is on display at Wellcome Collection.
£25 including two-course dinner and two glasses of wine.
To book please call 020 7611 2222
Thursday December 4, 19.00-21.00
The Invention of the Body
A visual journey through the evolution of Anatomical Art
Acclaimed artist and author of 'Anatomy for the Artist' Sarah Simblet unveils the extraordinary construction of the human body and examines the relationship between the sympathetic disciplines of anatomy and art. How have visual artists understood and interpreted flesh and bones across the ages and how has their work advanced scientific inquiry?
This event is part of ‘Performing Medicine’, a season of conversations, performances and debates that examine the medical profession through the lens of the performing and visual arts. Further events in this series at Wellcome Collection on 30 October.
Thursday 11 December, 19.00-20.30
Voices
Why they crash and how to rescue them
Your voice is as unique as your fingerprint. It helps define your personality, mood, and health. Yet it is a part of us that is often overlooked. What happens to our sense of self when we lose our voice or it no longer works properly?
The voice is our chief means of communication, a fundamental tool for living and working, and a source of artistic pleasure. We take our voices for granted, until we are deprived of the power of speech.
Join our guests, Christina Shewell, a voice teacher and speech therapist who specialises in mending voice disorders, and Pamela Parry, a singer and voice coach who suffered from voice problems, in a fascinating discussion about vocal communication and the true nature of the voice.
This event is part of a series exploring identity and change. Further events on 11 September 9 October, 13 November and 29 January.
Unless otherwise stated tickets are FREE and must be booked in advance.
For information and bookings visit the Wellcome Collection events pages or call 020 7611 2222.
-------------------------------------------------
Media enquiries
For further details, images, interview requests or to attend the press private views please contact:
Mike Findlay, Wellcome Trust Media Office
T +44 (0)20 7611 8612
E m.findlay@wellcome.ac.uk