Wellcome Collection - What's On in December

Booking for events opens at 11.00 on Friday 27 November.
	You can book online with our ticketing system by following the links below, or you can call us on 020 7611 2222. Please note, Wellcome Collection is closed 24–26 Dec 2015 and 1 Jan 2016.

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FREE EXHIBITION

Tibet's Secret Temple: Body, mind and meditation in Tantric Buddhism

UNTIL 28 FEBRUARY 2016 FREE | DROP IN

Tibet’s Secret Temple explores Tibetan Buddhist yogic and meditational practice and their connections to physical and mental wellbeing. This exhibition is inspired by an exquisite series of 17th-century murals from a private meditation chamber for Tibet’s Dalai Lamas in Lhasa’s Lukhang Temple. It features over 120 objects including scroll paintings, statues, manuscripts, archival and contemporary film, together with a wide range of ethnographic and ritual artefacts. Three of the murals from the temple have been recreated, by photographer Thomas Laird, as life-sized digital artworks that form the centrepiece of the exhibition. Tibet’s Secret Temple, by bringing the mural images together with a unique set of objects, uncovers previously unseen stories behind the ancient, esoteric and once-secret practices illustrated in the Lukhang murals and shows their relevance to the expanding and wide-ranging contemporary interest in meditative wellbeing. Queuing or timed ticketing may be in operation at weekends and other busy times. › Tibet's Secret Temple – find out more

Secret Yogas, Tantric Masters THURSDAY 3 DEC, 19.00–21.00 FREE | BOOK FROM 27 NOV What happens when secret practices and sacred objects are taken out of their intended context? Why were they secret and what happens to the sacred? This event will explore Tantric Buddhism from monastery to museum, with stories of unorthodox methods of teaching and unconventional and revered masters. The discussion will be followed by a demonstration of the body–mind practices of Tibetan Yoga. › Secret Yogas, Tantric Masters – find out more An Introduction to Tibetan Yoga Teachings FRIDAY 4 DEC, 11.00–12.30 & 15.00–16.30 SATURDAY 5 DEC, 11.00–12.30 & 15.00–16.30 FREE | BOOK FROM 27 NOV Join renowned Tibetan yoga practitioner, Akarpa Lobsang Rinpoche for an introduction to the energetic anatomy of the human body and Tibetan body–mind yogic practices, as illustrated in the Lukhang murals in Tibet’s Secret Temple. These events will include demonstrations and some practical participation in mindful breathing practices and gentle stretches, as well as a chance to ask questions.                › Introduction to Tibetan Yoga Workshops – find out more

FREE INSTALLATION

Ann Veronica Janssens: yellowbluepink

UNTIL 3 JANUARY 2016 FREE | DROP IN

This installation by Ann Veronica Janssens explores light and colour as she invades the gallery with coloured mist. Colour is caught in a state of suspension, obscuring any detail of surface or depth. Instead, attention is focused on the process of perception itself. Janssens’s work is both disorienting and uplifting as the daily wonder of conscious experience is given renewed emphasis.     The installation is deliberately disorientating with very limited visibility. This advice will help you get the most out of your visit. Entrance into the space is limited. You may need to queue or get a timed ticket at weekends and other busy times. At weekends, last entry will typically be an hour before closing – please see our Twitter or website for updates. This installation launches States of Mind: Tracing the edges of consciousness, a year-long investigation into the experience of human consciousness.     › Ann Veronica Janssens: yellowbluepink – find out more

We're open until 22.00 next Friday FRIDAY 4 DEC FREE | DROP IN Avoid the queues and ease into your weekend at our next First Friday. Experience Ann Veronica Janssens's yellowbluepink installation of coloured mist as part of #statesofmind, unwind in the Reading Room, revisit our permanent collections and grab a bite to eat at the restaurant as we stay open until 22.00 every first Friday of the month (except January and August). › First Fridays – find out more

FREE EVENTS

Can You See Pain? THURSDAY 10 DEC, 19.00–20.30 FREE | BOOK FROM 27 NOV Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, Professor Irene Tracey at the University of Oxford has discovered a core area in the brain that underpins the ‘it hurts’ experience. But if we can ‘see’ pain, can this help us to develop new painkillers? In collaboration with BBC World Service. › Can You See Pain? – find out more Get Festive with Wellcome Collection THURSDAY 17 DEC, 18.00–22.00 FREE | DROP IN It’s our last Thursday before Christmas and we’ve planned a fantastic night so you can pick up your last-minute gifts in style and celebration. Join us for late-night shopping with a festive twist, plus author signings, prizes, offers, treats and carols. › Get Festive – find out more

BOOK

The Book of Human Emotionsby Tiffany Watt Smith The Book of Human Emotions is a gleeful, thoughtful collection of 156 feelings both rare and familiar. You’ll discover feelings you never knew you had (likebasorexia, the sudden urge to kiss someone), uncover secret histories of boredom and confidence, and gain unexpected insights into why we feel the way we do. This great Christmas gift (for a loved one or even yourself) is available from the Wellcome Shop and online.

COMING SOON

Symposium: Mindfulness Unpacked SATURDAY 20 FEB 2016, 10.30–17.00 £18/£15 CONCESSIONS | BOOK FROM 27 NOV Mindfulness: panacea or fad? Both? Neither? Meditation can be used as a tool for changing our brain and can provide insight into our extraordinary ability to train the mind. But what happens to mindfulness when it’s removed from the Buddhist worldview and applied as a supplement for modern living? Who practises it now and should we be more sceptical about its benefits? Can science tell us when it can and can’t provide the perfect antidote? This symposium will be a dynamic day-long meditation on mindfulness.     › Mindfulness Unpacked – find out more

Harmony of Body, Breath and Mind SATURDAY 16 JAN 2016, 11.00–12.30 FREE | BOOK FROM 27 NOV Alejandro Chaoul teaches and researches Tibetan meditation with people who have cancer and their families. Join him for a workshop to experience the distinctive Tibetan body–mind yogic practices that he uses in biomedical settings. Come and explore the importance of breathing techniques and simple Tibetan yoga movements that you can use in everyday life. This event requires physical participation. It is aimed at all levels of ability but may not be suitable for those with specific requirements. Please bring water and wear suitable clothing. Part of Bodies in Balance. › Harmony of Body, Breath & Mind – find out more Meditation as Medicine? SATURDAY 16 JAN 2016, 15.00–16.00 FREE| BOOK FROM 27 NOV Hear from Alejandro Chaoul about his unique experiences of bringing Tibetan Yogas into biomedical settings. Chaoul is Assistant Professor and Director of Education for Integrative Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He both teaches and researches Tibetan meditation with people who have cancer and their families using body–mind yogic practices. Join us to find out more about Chaoul’s perspective on the relationship between Tibetan meditation and chronic stress, anxiety and sleep disorders. Part of Bodies in Balance. › Meditation as Medicine? – find out more

YOUTH PROGRAMME

RawMinds: Creative Merchandise Know any artists, designers or entrepreneurs aged 14–19? We have 15 places available for our RawMinds: Creative Merchandise project and we’re looking for a group of talented and enthusiastic individuals to take part. The team will be working together to develop, design and prototype merchandise to create a new product or range of products to sell in the Wellcome Shop. Everybody involved will have the opportunity to work with professionals from the worlds of design, retail, communications and production, and potentially to visit professional design studios and production warehouses. Applications will open on Monday 7 December. › RawMinds: Creative Merchandise – find out more

ON THE BLOG

Contemplating the Contemporary: Photography Our Medicine Now gallery features a diverse range of photography: from colour to black-and-white, abstraction and figuration, the photographs highlight trends in contemporary photography. Many of the photographs on display result from collaborations between artists and medical practitioners. Guillaume Vandame guides us inContemplating the Contemporary. The Creative Power of Collections Collections – and the actions of gathering, organising and displaying them – have the power to produce tangible things. From Renaissance apothecaries to contemporary artists and curators, collections may provide information, inspiration and the raw ingredients to create something new. Anna Faherty explores the Creative Power of Collections. A Month of Pogonography Beards, moustaches, whiskers, etc. have long been symbols of ‘manliness'. They are a highly public face of masculinity, able to be grown, styled, controlled and shaved according to fashion or culture. But there is also an important health and hygiene history to the beard. Explore a month of pogonography on the Wellcome Library’s blog.

BEYOND WELLCOME

Soaring Flight: Peter Lanyon's Gliding Paintings The Courtauld Gallery UNTIL 17 JAN 2016 This exhibition explores a remarkable series of paintings by Peter Lanyon, one of Britain's most important and original Post-War artists. During the 1950s, he produced radical, near-abstract paintings of the tough coastal landscape of his native West Cornwall inspired by his experience of gliding. This series will be the focus of this major retrospective. › Soaring Flight – find out more Tibet's Secret Yogas October Gallery SUNDAY 6 DEC 10.30–16.30 For centuries, the innermost teachings of Tibetan Buddhism have remained hidden even from devout practitioners. In these unprecedented teachings, Tibetan lama Akarpa Lobsang Rinpoche will reveal the “secret path to enlightenment” that brings joy, creativity, wisdom and compassion to all human activities and a transformed experience of everyday life. › Tibet's Secret Yogas – find out more The Painted Forest Villages of Hazaribagh Brunei Gallery, SOAS UNTIL 12 DEC Showcasing work by photographer Deidi Von Schaewen, this exhibition explores the traditional painted houses of the Adevasi villages in Hazaribagh, in the Indian state of Jharkhand, and Khovar (comb-cut marriage art) and Sohrai (painted harvest art) paintings re-produced by the Tribal Women Artists Cooperative (TWAC). › The Painted Forest Villages of Hazaribagh – find out more Death and Memory: Soane and the Architecture of Legacy Sir John Soane's Museum UNTIL 26 MARCH 2016 Commemorating 200 years since the death of Sir John Soane's beloved wife Eliza, this exhibition examines the effect of this personal tragedy on his life and work, as well as his long-held fascination with mortality. › Death and Memory – find out more