Wellcome Collection - What's On in September

Booking for events opens at 11.00 on Friday 26 August.   You can book online with our ticketing system by following the links below, or you can call us on 020 7611 2222. Wellcome Collection is open on Monday 29 August for the summer bank holiday

FREE EXHIBITION Bedlam: the asylum and beyond 16 SEP 2016–15 JAN 2017 FREE | DROP IN 'Bedlam: the asylum and beyond' traces the rise and fall of the mental asylum by following the story of one such institution, Bethlem Royal Hospital in London, known in popular slang as Bedlam. The exhibition focuses on the diverse perspectives and lived experiences of individuals who inhabited the asylum or created alternatives to it – their voices have shaped the meaning of mental illness and the current landscape of mental healthcare. Pick up an audio companion which brings together interviews, spoken word and other audio pieces developed by creative practitioners with lived experience of mental health issues. All our exhibitions are free. Find out about entry at busy times. › Bedlam: the asylum and beyond – find out more This Way Madness Lies: the asylum and beyond AVAILABLE FROM 15 SEP RRP £24.95 Mike Jay explores the evolution of the asylum and attitudes to mental distress and its treatment. From the madhouse to the lunatic asylum, from the mental hospital to the world at large, it features illustrations from Wellcome's exceptional holdings and the Royal Bethlem Hospital’s archive. Published by Thames & Hudson and Wellcome Collection. › This Way Madness Lies: the asylum and beyond – find out more Re:Creating Psychiatry THURSDAY 29 SEP, 19.00-20.30 FREE | FIRST COME, FIRST SEATED Join us for the first of two discussion events exploring issues in the contemporary mental health system. This ‘Shrink Radio’ conversation will be curated by Re:Create Psychiatry, a service-user-led exploratory platform based at the Dragon Café which brings together people with lived experience of mental ill-health and medical professionals to transcend the traditional roles of ‘expert’ and ‘patient’. The topic for the conversation will be confirmed on the website. › Re:Creating Psychiatry – find out more   OFFSITE EVENT Art at Bethlem SATURDAY 5 NOV, 11.00-13.00 £5 | BOOK VIA BETHLEM GALLERY  Head to Bethlem Gallery and Museum of the Mind in Beckenham to explore the site of this world-famous hospital through historical and contemporary artistic perspectives. This is a paid event, with tea and cake included. Please note that this event takes place off-site at Bethlem Gallery, BR3 3BX › Art at Bethlem – find out more   FREE EXHIBITION States of Mind: Tracing the edges of consciousness UNTIL 16 OCT FREE | DROP IN Exploring phenomena such as somnambulism, synaesthesia, and disorders of memory and consciousness, the exhibition examines ideas around the nature of consciousness, and in particular what can happen when our typical conscious experience is interrupted, damaged or undermined. 'States of Mind: Tracing the edges of consciousness' features a series of changing installations. The final one is 'Time Present' by Shona Illingsworth. Find out more about this installation. The exhibition also features work by artists Carla MacKinnon, Louise K Wilson, A R Hopwood, Mary Kelly and Aya Ben Ron. All our exhibitions are free. Find out about entry at busy times. › States of Mind – find out more Lost and Found Movements THURSDAY 22 SEP, 15.00-16.30 & 19.00-20.30 FREE | BOOK FROM 26 AUG Choreographer Siobhan Davies and neurophysiologist and author Jonathan Cole discuss their common interest in the relationship between observing and embodying movement. This lecture and demonstration draws on Cole’s research into impaired proprioception – our sense of our body’s position and movement – and Davies’s choreographic collaborations with him. › Lost and Found Movements – find out more Perspective speaker tour with Carla MacKinnon FRIDAY 2 SEP, 18.00-18.45 FREE | DROP IN Join Carla MacKinnon for a tour of'States of Mind: tracing the edges of consciousness'. Carla MacKinnon is a film maker and researcher working across animation, film and live events. In 2013 she created the Sleep Paralysis Project, a short film and cross-platform project dedicated to a creative exploration of sleep paralysis. › Perspective speaker tour with Carla MacKinnon – find out more        States of Mind: the book OUT NOW RRP £9.99 Understanding the nature of consciousness continues to challenge even the leading experts in the field. This collection of literature, science and art delves into the mysteries of consciousness and features an introduction by Mark Haddon. › States of Mind: The book – find out more   TOURING EXHIBITION Skeleto Our Buried Bones 19 AUG 2016 - 8 JAN 2017 FREE | HUNTERIAN ART GALLERY, GLASGOW 'Skeletons: Our Buried Bones' is going on tour across the country, with a first stop in Glasgow. Based on a show originally at Wellcome Collection in 2008, the exhibition is a collaboration with the Museum of London, touring to the Hunterian Art Gallery, M Shed in Bristol and Leeds City Museum over 2016-18. › Skeletons: Our Buried Bones – find out more   FREE EVENTS First Friday with live DJ set FRIDAY 2 SEP, 18.00-22.00 FREE | DROP IN Join us on the first Friday of the month for extended gallery opening hours, music, cocktails and tours of the exhibitions. This month Stephen Coates/The Real Tuesday Weld plays a set of organic and cinematic swing. › First Friday – find out more Packed Lunch: Habits WEDNESDAY 7 SEP, 13.00-14.00 FREE | FIRST COME, FIRST SEATED What exactly is a habit? What part do habits play in our lives? Join social psychologist Benjamin Gardner to find out how habits influence the way we behave. › Packed Lunch: Habits – find out more Medicine, What Now? SATURDAY 10 SEP, 11.00-17.00 FREE | DROP IN From the global to the microbial, from the complex to the surprisingly simple – what does the medical frontier hold for us? Our Visitor Experience team will be taking over 'Medicine Now' and our other permanent galleries to explore current and future research in key areas, as we address the question:Medicine, what now? › Medicine, What Now? – find out more Human Library SATURDAY 24 SEP, 15.00-17.00 FREE | DROP IN In the Human Library, the books are people and the reading is a conversation. Choose from a wide range of titles that reflect the astonishing diversity of the community we live in, and don’t judge a book by its cover. › Human Library – find out more Library Insights: The Lost Language of Stitches THURSDAY 29 SEP, 18.00-19.00 FREE | BOOK FROM 26 AUG When Jacqui Carey saw the embroidered cover of one of our rare folding almanacs she was in awe of its scale and intricacy. This is her story of how she recreated its extraordinary structure and rediscovered craft skills from the 15th century. › Library Insights: The Lost Language of Stitches – find out more   HUBBUB Rest & its discontents 30 SEP–30OCT FREE | THE MILE END ART PAVILION, E3 4QY 'Rest & its discontents' is a major new exhibition exploring rest and noise, tumult and work, through site-specific installations, moving images, performance, drawing, poetry, data, sound and music. › Rest & its discontents – find out more Anatomy of Rest: The Rest Test results SUNDAY 11 SEP, 14.00-16.30 FREE | BOOK FROM 26 AUG How do you find rest in the modern world? The Rest Test, launched on BBC Radio 4, aimed to find out and over 18,000 people from all over the world responded. How does personality affect rest? Do men and women rest differently? Join us as we reveal the results at a special event hosted by Claudia Hammond and Hubbub. With participation from jazz singer Claire Martin, poet and essayist Kathleen Jamie and comedian and writer Robin Ince. › Anatomy of Rest: The Rest Test results – find out more   YOUTH PROGRAMME Saturday Studio: Lomography Workshops SATURDAY 24 SEP, 14.00-17.00 FREE | DROP IN Lomography UK will lead this day of photography skills workshops in which you will use the Lomo’Instant Wide to take pictures inspired by Wellcome Collection’s permanent galleries and objects. › Saturday Studio: Lomography Workshops – find out more   ACCESS TOUR British Sign Language Tour: Objects with Magical Properties THURSDAY 29 SEP, 16.00-16.45 FREE | BOOK FROM 26 AUG What is an object with magical properties? How does it work? Do you own one? Our Visitor Experience Assistant Sarah will lead you through the 'Medicine Man' gallery finding hidden connections between exhibits with medical, magical or simply mysterious purpose. › British Sign Language Tour: Objects with magical properties – find out more