This weekend: The Congress for Curious Peoples – London edition!

This Saturday, September 8th, graphic designer, photographer and blogger extraordinaire Joanna Ebenstein opens her legendary “Congress for Curious Peoples” in London. Joanna, who runs New York’s acclaimed Morbid Anatomy Library, cordially invites you to join her and a host of distinguished scholars, makers, and museum folk at the first ever London “Congress” at the Last Tuesday Society.

The one day symposium will feature a host of curators, writers, and practitioners exploring in panels, illustrated lectures and discussion the intersections explored by the exhibition “Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses: Visions of Death Made Beautiful.” Themes discussed will include enchantment and enlightenment, or the sublimation of the magical into the rational world; the secret life of objects, or the non-rational allure of objects and the psychology of collecting; and beautiful death and incorruptible bodies, or the shared drive to immortalize the human body and aestheticize death in both medicine and Catholicism.

Wellcome staff Kate Forde and Ross MacFarlane will feature in the The Secret Life of Objects: The Allure of Objects and the Psychology of Collecting session, whilst Dr Simon Chaplin will speak in the Beautiful Death and Incorruptible Bodies: Eternal Life and Aestheticized Death in Medicine and Catholicism session. You will also be able to view Joanna’s new exhibition Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses: Visions of Death Made Beautiful in Italy

So something for everyone, we think you’ll agree. Full details for the event can be found on the Morbid Anatomy blog. We hope to see you there!