Wellcome Collection - This November: What does it mean to be human, now? and exploring homesickness

 

A free museum and library exploring health and human experience

What does it mean to be human, now? Our doors have reopened with a programme that asks: What does it mean to be human, now? Throughout history, pandemics have been powerful engines of change, exposing inequalities in the distribution of health and wealth. With in-building installations, digital content and events, join us as we explore how we can care for ourselves and for each other in the context of extraordinary cultural, social and political shifts. Ana Botella Head of Public Programmes Book your visit  What's on

Standardized Patient Opening 10 Nov - 28 Feb 2021 (Part of What does is mean to be human, now?) Free installation What is the role of empathy in healthcare? This installation by US artist Kerry Tribe explores how simulated patients are used to train medical students. Actors perform as patients with different personal histories, preparing the students for the human connection that forms a critical part of any care relationship. The Den Opening 10 Nov - 28 Feb 2021 (Part of What does it mean to be human, now?) Free installation Artist Sop explores alternative strategies for self-care during the Covid-19 pandemic through a series of meditative sound works. As someone forced to shield during the pandemic, they narrate the process of building a secret den in a cemetery. The den provides a space for respite: a structure of protection and safety. What to expect on your visit Video We're delighted that we can welcome you back into the building. Here in this short video, you can see some of the changes we've made to help everyone have a happy and safe visit. It's still free to visit the museum and library, you just need to choose a time and book a ticket before you arrive. For more information and to book your ticket, visit our website. How stories bring us together (Part of Inside Our Books) Book | Article Ours is an age of contagious anxiety. In How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division, Booker Prize-nominated novelist and activist Elif Shafak makes an uplifting plea for conscious optimism. In this extract she considers how hard it is to be heard in our divided world, but how listening to each other can nurture empathy. Euston's lost burial ground (Part of Stories) In pictures St James’s Gardens, a former burial ground next to London’s Euston Station, closed in 2017 for work on the new HS2 rail line. Removing the tens of thousands of bodies buried on the site required the largest exhumation in British history. Discover some of the stories behind the now lost graveyard and the bodies it held. Anatomy of Touch (Part of The Touch Test) Radio series Touch is a crucial part of our lives. It’s also a sense that has taken on a new resonance during the pandemic, now that we haven’t hugged friends or family for more than half a year. In January we launched The Touch Test in collaboration with BBC Radio 4 to find out more about this under-investigated sense. Discover the findings in this results programme. Discover more online

Stories The heart of homesickness Series Taking in epidemics of nostalgia in the 18th century, NASA scientists looking at homesick astronauts, and generations of homesickness in refugee camps, travel writer Gail Tolley considers why home – and leaving it – is a far more complex experience than is often understood. The complex longing for home Part 1 The hidden history of homesickness Part 2 How homesickness inspires art Part 3 View all stories

Beyond Wellcome The Beautiful Octopus Club Festival Free | Online arts festival | Throughout November Join Heart n Soul’s The Beautiful Octopus Club Festival. Featuring DJ club nights, live music, art, baking, radio and more! Health (Documents of Contemporary Art) Free | Whitechapel Gallery in association with Wellcome Collection Thu 12 Nov, 17:00-18:00 Join an event celebrating the latest DoCA release, Health, edited by Bárbara Rodríguez Muñoz. Hear from artists about how health intersects with sexuality, ethnicity, gender, class and coloniality. The Changing Geography of Ill Health Free | Gresham College | Wed 25 Nov, 18.00-19.00 Join Professor Chris Whitty for a free lecture considering the shifting geography of ill health in the UK and globally, and its implications.

Planning your visit Book your ticket It’s still free to visit our museum and library, you'll just need to book a ticket. Plan your visit Find out what's open and discover the facilities available to you on your visit. Keeping you safe We’ve made a few changes to ensure you have a safe and enjoyable visit.

FORTNUM & MASON - Presenting... Our Christmas Windows!

 

	The Big Reveal Fortnum's Christmas Windows Christmas has well and truly arrived at Fortnum & Mason! Today we revealed our famous Piccadilly windows, capturing key festive moments from Fortnum's Christmases past. Starting our wonderful sleighride in 1930, strolling through to a rather exceptional 2020. It's true that this Christmas will be like no other, and however we'll be celebrating, near or far, we wanted to look back at all the happy Christmases we've been so fortunate to celebrate. So, join us as we take you through our festive archives and read all about how we’re keeping you safe in our stores this Christmas. TAKE A PEEK A festive journey through our Christmas archive While many will wait for the first sign of twinkling lights, their first mince pie, or the sound of Mariah Carey to declare that Christmas is here, in all truthfulness, the most wonderful time of the year officially starts when our windows have been revealed.   And well then, consider our halls DECKED!   Revealed on 30th October, this year, the eight iconic windows on Piccadilly capture key festive moments from Fortnum’s Christmases past. With 313 of them under our buckled belt it was quite the task to select just a handful from our archive, but we start our wonderful sleighride in 1930, strolling through 1934, 1936, 1957, 1962, 2008, 2015 and ending the journey in a rather exceptional 2020.   It’s true that this Christmas will be like no other, and however we’ll be celebrating, near or far, we wanted to look back at all the happy Christmases we’ve been so fortunate to celebrate. Showcasing hours of meticulous craftsmanship using hand sculpting, painting, lighting and bespoke engineering – each window features the original brochure cover alongside a larger-than-life, sparkling, dancing recreation.   Along Duke Street, meanwhile, the windows celebrate our season’s feastings, packed with every delicious thing needed for the big day, starting with Christmas morning breakfast delights through to showstopper puddings and pies, right up to after-dinner tipples. And that’s not all. We’ve transformed our famous façade into one gigantic advent calendar. Come December we’ll be celebrating the countdown to Christmas on a grander scale than ever before – and if nothing else, you’ll be able to use our store façade to tell both the time, thanks to our merry clock, retuned to play a collection of festive melodies on the hour, and the date, giving you no excuses to leave your Christmas shopping to the last minute.

Horniman Museum and Gardens - November news from the Horniman

 

Following the latest lockdown announcement please check the Horniman website and social media channels for updates before you visit. Aquarium now reopen Open daily, 10.30am – 5.30pm Discover fifteen aquatic environments from around the globe, ranging from the British pond to Fijian coral reefs. See amazing animals such as poison dart frogs, beautiful jellyfish, colourful reef fish and intriguing seahorses.   Book Aquarium tickets Tickets include entry to the Museum, please go to the Aquarium at the start of your visit. Conversation with Remi Vaughan-Richards Wednesday 4 November 2020, 6 – 7pm Join us for an online event to discuss the global influence of Nigerian music and memories of Lagos with Remi Vaughan-Richards, director of award-winning documentary Faaji Agba. Told through the reunion of long-forgotten musicians, Faaji Agba is an intimate portrait of the history, culture and music scene of Lagos. Free Book Remi Vaughan-Richards tickets This event is the last in our series of conversations with prominent Nigerian thinkers and creatives as part of our Nigeria60 project. An Ode to Afrosurrealism Now open Visit a new photographic exhibition by artists Hamed Maiye and Adama Jalloh. An Ode to Afrosurrealism explores contemporary relationships with spiritualism, reality and surrealism through a Black British lens. Free as part of your Museum visit Book Museum tickets If you have seen this exhibition we would be very grateful if you would complete a short survey Plonk Golf   Saturdays and Sundays, 11am – 3.30pm (last ticket) Have fun on our mini-golf course in the Horniman Gardens. Test your putting skills against loop-the-loops, heroic hills, balancing beams and Horniman-themed specials. Putters for kids and wheelchair users are available. Book Plonk Golf tickets Horniman Café   Open daily, 9am – 5.30pm Visit the Horniman Café to enjoy delicious hot and cold meals, light snacks, tea, coffee, beers and wine. Look out for tempting new all-day breakfast and crepe menus launching later this month.   Read more about food and drink at the Horniman You do not need a museum entry ticket to visit the Horniman Café. Table service only is in operation. Horniman Market   Sundays, 10am – 3pm For four weeks from Sunday 29 November the Horniman Market will feature extra stalls selling festive gifts and treats. Drop by to pick up some seasonal specials alongside the usual selection of fresh produce and hot food. Free entry Find out about the Horniman Market Horniman Members   Join Horniman Members today and enjoy a year of discovery and delight with free and unlimited entry to our Butterfly House, Aquarium and ticketed exhibitions, and a 10% discount in the Shop. At this time more than ever your support will help us care for our collections and Gardens so that they can be enjoyed by generations to come. Find out about Horniman Members Please note that Members must book their free tickets for the Museum, Permian Monsters exhibition, Butterfly House and Aquarium in advance online. Pumpkins, Gourds and Squash display   Throughout October, visitors have been marvelling at the wonderful 'horn of plenty' display of pumpkins, gourds and squash in the Horniman Gardens. Some of the pumpkins will shortly be given to the Horniman Café to use in their delicious dishes.   Read more about the pumpkin display