Wellcome Collection - What's On in May

Booking for events opens at 11.00 on Friday 29 April.   You can book online by following the links below or call us on 020 7611 2222.

FREE EXHIBITION THIS IS A VOICE UNTIL 31 JULY FREE | DROP IN THIS IS A VOICE traces the material quality of the voice by looking inside vocal tracts, restless minds and speech devices to capture its complex psychological and physiological origins. Conceived as an acoustic journey, the exhibition focuses on the emotions that resonate in the voice through rhythm, pitch and tone, as well as non-verbal forms of communication. Voicings, a series of live vocalisations, will take place in the gallery every day (Tuesday to Sunday) at 12.00. All our exhibitions are free. Find out about entry at busy times. › THIS IS A VOICE– find out more This is a Voice: the book OUT NOW RRP £15.99 A practical toolkit of 99 step-by-step vocal exercises to help speakers and singers of all abilities transform the quality of their voice. With a foreword by Cerys Matthews, the book is avaliable now. › This is a Voice: the book – now avaliable What Does Your Voice Say About You? THURSDAY 12 MAY, 19.00-20.30 FREE | BOOK FROM 29 APRIL Voices are unique. As soon as we open our mouths to speak we reveal a lot about ourselves– our biology, status, geography and state of mind. Join us for a discussion on the relationship between the voice and identity. › What Does Your Voice Say About You? – find out more  FREE EXHIBITION States of Mind: Tracing the edges of consciousness UNTIL 31 JULY FREE | DROP IN Perspectives from artists, psychologists, philosophers and neuroscientists are presented together to interrogate our understanding of the conscious experience. Exploring phenomena such as somnambulism, mesmerism, and disorders of memory and consciousness, the exhibition examines ideas about 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 exhibition features the new installation, H.M. by Kerry Tribe, which opened this week. Find out more about the installations. All our exhibitions are free. Find out about entry at busy times. › States of Mind: Tracing the edges of consciousness – 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 is available online and from Wellcome Shop. › States of Mind: the book – available now Disorders of Consciousness THURSDAY 19 MAY, 19.00-20.30 FREE | BOOK FROM 29 APRIL Neuroscientist Dr Sophie Duport and clinician Dr Kudret Yelden, from the Royal Hospital of Neurodisability, discuss the clinical, scientific and ethical issues that surround the care of patients at the edge of consciousness.           › Disorders of Consciousness – find out more Minds Interrupted SATURDAY 21 MAY, 13.00-15.00 FREE | DROP IN How can you return to your life after brain injury, when your memory, movement or speech may have been significantly changed? Speak with people living with the effects of brain injury as they lead you through games and performance. This event is in partnership with Headway East London. › Minds Interrupted – find out more Minds Interrupted: My Beautiful Broken Brain SATURDAY 21 MAY, 13.00-16.00 FREE | BOOK FROM 29 APRIL Her brain is broken. Her mind is limitless. A film about a young woman's cerebral haemorrhage - with outcomes no one could have predicted. › Minds Interrupted: My Beautiful Broken Brain – find out more Minds Interrupted:Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver SATURDAY 21 MAY, 16.00-17.30 FREE | BOOK FROM 29 APRIL In January 2011, Peggy Shaw had a stroke and shortly after made RUFF, a performance designed to illustrate the performer’s changed abilities. In this event, Shaw and RUFF director Lois Weaver share creative methods to reveal the power of the imagination in the face of extreme circumstances. › Minds Interrupted: Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver – find out more  SYMPOSIUM Symposium: Out of Control SATURDAY 11 JUNE, 10.00-18.00 £18/£15 | BOOK FROM 29 APRIL This day-long symposium will explore the automatic and unwilled aspects of human experience, bringing together perspectives from history, contemporary science and the arts to examine issues of power, self-control and agency in relation to consciousness. › Symposium: Out of Control – find out more  WELLCOME BOOK PRIZE Winner of the Wellcome Book Prize 2016: ‘It’s All in Your Head’ by Suzanne O’Sullivan From a remarkable shortlist of six, Suzanne O’Sullivan has been announced as the winner of the Wellcome Book Prize 2016 for ‘It’s All in Your Head’. › Winner of the Wellcome Book Prize 2016 – find out more  FREE EVENTS Friday Late Spectacular: Display FRIDAY 6 MAY, 19.00-23.00 FREE | DROP IN Join us for our next Friday Late Spectacular! Candoco Dance Company, the company of disabled and non-disabled dancers, curate our next Friday Late. Experience intimate moments of contemporary dance and sound and consider the subtleties and complexities of what it means to be on display with live performances, talks and workshops. This is a special late-night event with a bar running all night. › Display – find out more The Morbid Anatomy Salon THURSDAY 5 MAY, 19.00-20.30 FREE | BOOK FROM 29 APR The Morbid Anatomy blog and museum in New York hosts thinkers and artists excavating the intersections of the history of art and medicine, death and culture. At this event, hear a series of illustrated talks by contributors to the recently re-releasedMorbid Anatomy Anthology. › The Morbid Anatomy Salon – find out more The Craft of Medicine: Illumination through Conversation SATURDAY 14 MAY, 11.00-17.00 FREE | DROP IN What can a surgeon and a tailor learn from one another? More than you might imagine... Mingle with Professor Roger Kneebone, clinicians and craftsmen for an unconventional day of informal conversation and even try some handiwork of your own. › The Craft of Medicine – find out more Library Insights: Open Your Mind THURSDAY 12 MAY, 18.00-19.00 FREE | BOOK FROM 29 APR Mental health care and the work of mental health charities changed dramatically in the 20th century.This talk will explore the changes through original material from the newly catalogued archive of Mind(formerly the National Association for Mental Health). › Open Your Mind – find out more Packed Lunch: Air Pollution and Health WEDNESDAY 18 MAY, 13.00-14.00 FREE | DROP IN Frank Kelly, Professor of Environmental Health at King's College London, talks about why air pollution from traffic is a problem in London, how it affects our health, and what can be done about it. › Air Pollution and Health – find out more Soul Machine: the invention of the modern mind MONDAY 23 MAY, 18.00-19.00 FREE | BOOK FROM 29 APR Prize-winning author, historian and psychiatrist George Makari takes us back to the origins of modernity, a time when crisis in religious authority and the scientific revolution led to searching questions about the nature of human inner life and how a new concept - the mind - emerged as a potential solution. › Soul Machine – find out more  YOUTH PROGRAMME Saturday Studio: Creative Sounds SATURDAY 21 MAY, 14.00-15.30 &15.30-17.00 FREE | DROP IN In these practical workshops, singer-songwriter Jonny Berliner will talk you through the mechanics of the voice and introduce you to a range of vocal techniques. He will also go through the basics of composition to show you how to record your own a cappella compositions using GarageBand on ipads.This workshop is inspired by our exhibition THIS IS A VOICE. We'll provide all the materials you'll need. › Saturday Studio: Creative Sounds – find out more  ONLINE Van Gogh’s portrait of a doctor Paul-Ferdinand Gachet was a maverick physician who had a consulting room in Paris at the end of the nineteenth century. He was an art lover/collector, amateur artist and a friend of many artists, including Vincent van Gogh. Read about their brief but significant relationship, resulting in the only etching Van Gogh ever created. › Van Gogh’s portrait of a doctor – find out more Explore Matthew Herbert’s Chorus online Part of THIS IS A VOICE, Matthew Herbert’s Chorus uses visitors’ voices to form an ever-expanding sound installation.Explore Chorus online using the interactive tools to adjust the voices and add your own. › Explore Matthew Herbert’s Chorus online The humours in Shakespeare April 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. One way we’re commemorating this anniversary is by exploring the four bodily humours and their effect on some of Shakespeare’s most famous characters. Find out more aboutthe humours in Shakespeare and how they’ve been represented in the work of the Bard of Avon. › The humours in Shakespeare – find out more