DARK Lunch Talks - Human remains in museums and collections (English spoken)
GUM FORUM
Three cutting-edge lunchtime talks. Bring your lunch and immerse yourself in the darker sides of science & art. An artist, a historian and a moral scientist discuss human remains in scientific heritage collections, along with the challenges museums face in terms of management and presentation.
Monday 23 October 2023
12pm unitl 1.30 pm
GUM FORUM
free with registration
bring your own lunch
Medical, anatomical, archaeological and other (scientific) museums are today challenged to think about the human remains in their collections. Exhibiting them is increasingly the subject of discussion. In a number of cases, it also concerns human remains that were collected as a 'curiosity'. Prof. Dr. Manon Parry, exhibition curator and professor of medical history at UV Amsterdam, defends the position that curiosity about the (dead) body is deeply human, and that curators can frame that interest in an acceptable and useful way. Prof. Dr. Freddy Mortier, professor of ethics at Ghent University, developed a deontological code regarding the exhibition of human remains. This can assist museums and other institutions with human collections in developing an ethical framework. Finally, visual artist and restorer Eleanor Crook sheds a personal light on the matter. In her work she is inspired by these medical and scientific collections.
