Monday 7 January 2013

50th Death Cafe at Graveland



We're extremely pleased to be holding our 50th Death Cafe in our hometown of London at the fantastic Graveland exhibition. This will be facilitated by Sue Barsky Reid, who also ran our 1st Death Cafe. 

We hope you will join us, and also check out what Graveland has to offer. Based on what we know about Carla Conte, the organiser, it will be a wonderfully playful method of blowing away the winter cobwebs. 




The Crypt Gallery
29th January – 3rd February 2013
Opening Event: 31st January 6-9pm.
~ FREE ENTRY ~

GRAVELAND - A playful art & photography exhibition that
explores cemeteries from around the world and how we remember the dead.

An exhibition about cemeteries from around the world opens on 29th January at The Crypt Gallery in London. Entitled Graveland, this vibrant exhibition takes a curious look at cemeteries and tributes from around the world, exploring ways we remember, through photography and art.

Photography, stories, objects and decorations will show some of the many different ways we commemorate a person worldwide, from the traditional to the more unusual. This will be further explored by artwork including drawings, sculpture, installations, photographic art, film and craft.


The collection represents different perspectives, depicting cemeteries across many continents, both religious and non-religious. It includes work by established artists, alongside members of the public, as well as incorporating images by children, who are often left out of this conversation.

The documentary photography will be exhibited along with cemetery decorations and objects relating to remembrance from around the world. This will include artifacts such as Mexican Day of the Dead flags, flowers and Chinese death money. The artworks will consist of sculpture, paintings, drawings, collage, installation, textiles, music ceramics and photographic art.

Graveland is a participatory exhibition that asks for the audiences’ involvement and contributions to the show with their thoughts, ideas, questions and play. The exhibition seeks to help dispel the idea that death is solely a sad or morbid subject and will create a space that is beautiful, inviting, informative and respectful, yet playful.

People visiting the show will be able to get involved in games, write and make artwork themselves, giving their views on the questions asked. Those who want to read more widely on the topic will be able to spend time in the library area. During the week, there will be various activities for the public to get involved in, including creative workshops and a Death Cafe, as well as an opening event with performances.

"Death is a fiesta!" is what artist and exhibition curator, Carla Conte, was told on a trip to Mexico during the Day of the Dead festival. She comments:

“I had not previously heard the words ‘party’ and ‘death’ linked before and neither had I thought too much about our different approaches to death and remembrance, but this idea of looking at the subject with both respect and humour appealed to me.”

Conte previously exhibited her photography and artwork with the Natural Death Centre and other organisations for a few years and began collecting photos of cemeteries from around the world. She comments:

“I learnt a lot in these years and found that many people felt similarly to how I began to feel in Mexico. I also noticed that the art and photography attracted attention and often led to more open discussion on the topic. Death is one thing we know we can be sure of and is something we all have in common, yet it is also something that is often pushed to the sidelines. I wanted to bring the subject to the forefront in this exhibition and create an environment where we can discuss, learn, think, create and enjoy. The collection of work does not seek to provide answers, but opens up questions and conversation.

The exhibition is primarily supported by Conte’s website Cemeteries Around The World and has support from the Natural Death Centre, Death CafĂ©, The Good Funeral Guide and Martynsey Iles Trust.

The exhibition opens on the 29th of January and runs until 3rd February at the Crypt Gallery, St. Pancras Church, Euston Road, London, NW1 2BA. For more information, please visit: http://www.cryptgallery.org.uk or www.cemeteriesaroundtheworld.com

1 comment:

  1. Really looking forward to attending on the 29th :)

    ReplyDelete

Say your piece.