Posted by EmmaCurtis
Hosted by Arrivals + Departures and Somerset House
Date: | Sept. 13, 2020 |
Start time: | 12:00 p.m. (BST) |
End time: | 2:00 p.m. (BST) |
Address: |
Somerset House Strand London WC2R 1LA United Kingdom |
Free |
This Death Cafe has taken place
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About this Death Cafe
Join our socially distanced, open air, tea party-style Death Cafe. Drink tea, eat cake (at lunchtime? Yes! Treat yourself!) and grab this opportunity to discuss death and dying in a safe space after months spent online.
Finally, a chance to meet people for real and talk about death! Set in the beautiful courtyard of Somerset House in sight of Arrivals + Departures a striking public artwork commemorating births and deaths, we'll gather in small, distanced groups with tea and cake - risk assessed and covid-safe.
Booking is available at https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/arrivals-departures-death-cafe - sure that you have booked your place as there are limited spaces available. There may be additional spaces if you come along on the day.
(Many people are experiencing loss and grief right now, however, please understand that Death Cafe is a place for free conversation about death and dying; we are not able to provide grief support or counselling.)
About Arrivals + Departures and Somerset House
Somerset House welcomes 3 million annual visitors to share this unique combination of public events, creative enterprise, and artistic practice. It is this mix that informs and powers their programme. Many events are free and visitors are encouraged to sit and enjoy the courtyard and terraces, without having to buy so much as a cup of coffee, as havens at the centre of London, but set back and away from cars, pollution and the hustle and bustle of street life.
Arrivals + Departures is an interactive public installation about birth, death and the journey in-between by YARA + DAVINA, opening at Somerset House, London: 10th September - 10th October 2020, situated in its famous courtyard.
It takes the recognisable form of two station or airport arrivals and departures boards inviting the public to share the names of people who have arrived and departed, as a way to celebrate a birth, someone living, or commemorate a death. These names submitted are of people that are important to the participants; personal or political, and can be shared with the help of a steward at the boards, or online. https://arrivalsanddepartures.net/
This Death Cafe is facilitated by Emma Curtis, Debi Roberts and Ash Hayhurst
Emma Curtis combines her 30-year career as an operatic contralto soloist with being an award-winning secular minister, grief counsellor and psychological therapist. She is the CEO of Ceremony Matters providing advanced trainings to funeral celebrants. This years Ceremony Matters conference for funeral professionals is an eight month programme on Diversity and Inclusion. She also has a grief and resiliency practice in London’s West End. http://ceremonymatters.org and http://wearetheresilient.com. Emma’s pronouns are she/her.
Debi Lewinson-Roberts is a Funeral Celebrant who has bespoke insight and experiential knowledge of African-Caribbean funeral practices. Her working knowledge of diverse cultural and religious practices enables her to work with families on a deeper and more meaningful level. Debi has a background in education, training & development and not-for-profit management and is a member of the Fellowship of Professional Celebrants.
Ash Hayhurst is the author of ‘Making informed choices when planning a funeral – a guide for queer people’, and has written articles for the Funeral Service Journal and the ICCM journal. Before becoming a funeral arranger, Ash volunteered with LGBT+ charities Stonewall Housing (www.stonewallhousing.org) and Educate & Celebrate (www.educateandcelebrate.org) helping to develop workshops and resources for young people. He has a degree in Popular Music Composition and is a qualified secondary school music teacher. Ash is a bisexual transgender man, and his pronouns are he/him.
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