The Coming of Age Symposium (in-venue)
About this Event
People are living longer across the world. But experiences of ageing are shaped by our environment, culture and society from the moment we’re born. Join us for a day of panel discussions, tours and workshops exploring how greater longevity is playing out in societies today, and how they can adapt to ensure we all age better.
You’ll hear a range of perspectives on ageing, and engage with artists, campaigners and researchers involved in the ‘The Coming of Age’ exhibition, its accompanying book and beyond. The symposium will be chaired by Professor Pragya Agarwal.
There will be breaks throughout the day. Free tea, coffee and lunch will be provided in the Williams Lounge.
If you want a break from the activities, you can head to our Chill-Out Room to lie down or relax. There will be low lighting, comfortable seating, cushions, mats, ear defenders, earplugs and sensory toys.
This is a hybrid event. Panel discussions and the keynote talk will be livestreamed and recorded. Workshops and tours are only available for in-venue participants.
Schedule
10:00 – 11:00: Arrival
Information Point on level 0
Arrive, grab a coffee, visit the exhibition, or sign up for one of the guided tours. You can also secure a place in your preferred afternoon workshop. Please note that the first tour starts promptly at 10:05, and both tour and workshop capacity is limited.
10:05 – 10:20: Don’t Die. Then What?
Information Point on level 0
We often tell young people to hold on, promising that a brighter future lies ahead. But does it? In this tour, we explore two objects that reflect the challenges young people face, from centuries ago to today.
10:20 – 10:35: Death in the Deep Freeze
Information Point on level 0
From Egyptian embalmers and a 1773 letter from Benjamin Franklin to the TV repairman who let nine bodies thaw, this tour traces the story of cryonic freezing through two objects. If you were frozen and thawed, would the person who wakes up still be ‘you’?
10:35 – 10:50: The Hydra Lives (BSL interpreted)
Information Point on level 0
This tour focuses on an artwork by Finnish artist Maija Tammi, exploring how a tiny freshwater organism has changed what we know about life and death.
11:00 – 11:15: Welcome and Curator’s Introduction
Henry Wellcome Auditorium and Online
Shamita Sharmacharja, curator of ‘The Coming of Age’, opens the symposium.
11:15 – 12:45: Ageing Better
Henry Wellcome Auditorium and Online
We’re surrounded by different perspectives and stereotypes about getting older. But what does it mean to live longer in the UK today, and what needs to change so we can all age better? Researcher Martina Zimmermann and The Centre for Ageing Better discuss ageism, the social determinants of health, and widening health and wealth gaps in later life.
14:00 – 14:30: Joyful Ageing
Henry Wellcome Auditorium and Online
In this keynote, author and artist Karen Arthur reflects on joyful ageing in a world that often expects women to shrink and become invisible. She explores clothing as a way to support mental wellbeing, as well as thriving through menopause and the gift of growing older.
14:30 – 15:45: Dreaming the Perfect Care Home
The Studio
Care homes are often associated with dread. But what if they could be places of rebirth, mutual support and even beauty? In this workshop, artist Kit Green invites you to playfully reimagine residential care. Together, you'll explore the possibilities of technology, finance, co-living, self-advocacy in medicine, and palliative care.
14:30 – 15:45: Visibility and Ageing
The Forum
In this workshop from Creative Ageing: Development Agency (CADA), explore how creativity can foster agency, visibility and inclusion as we age. Using materials such as images, poetry, scent, sound, and symbolic and natural objects, you’ll create artworks that explore how we navigate our everyday life and relationships as we age. The workshop is led by artists Arti Prashar and Jo Paul.
14:30 – 15:45: Uncertain Futures
Franks and Steel Rooms
This workshop explores how unpaid care, work and worklessness affect women over 50. Drawing on lived experience and research from the Uncertain Futures collaborative project, you’ll explore inequalities faced by older women and imagine alternatives together.
14:30 – 15:45: Just a Number
Reading Room
In this collage workshop led by our Visitor Experience and Engagement team, explore ageism in birthday cards. You’ll discuss how humour can convey hurtful messages, as well as tear up and reimagine a range of birthday cards. You can create your own card to take away.
16:15 – 17:45: Ageing Inequities
Henry Wellcome Auditorium and Online
Artist and academic Kit Green, disability researcher Tom Shakespeare and palliative medicine consultant Jamilla Hussain discuss how inequity shapes experiences of ageing for queer, disabled and racially minoritised communities. The conversation explores lived experiences of health inequity and the cumulative effects of ageing and discrimination.
17:45 – 18:00: Closing remarks
Henry Wellcome Auditorium and Online
Chair Pragya Agarwal closes the symposium.
18:00 – 20:00: Drinks reception
Williams Lounge
Stay to continue the conversation and meet other guests at a drinks reception. You’ll also have the chance to visit the exhibition after hours.
Need to know
Location
This is an event with several different activities. Check specific sub-events for their locations.
Multi-part programme
This is a large-scale event with several different activities, which may include drop-in sessions, scheduled performances, workshops or talks. Check specific activities for details and to see if you need to book a ticket or just show up. Spaces for drop-in activities are limited and may run out if we are busy.
Place not guaranteed
Booking a ticket for a free, in-person event does not guarantee you a place. You should aim to arrive 15 minutes before the event is scheduled to start to claim your place. If you do not arrive on time, your place may be given to someone on the waiting list.
Waiting list
If this event is fully booked, you may still be able to attend. We will operate a waiting list, which opens 30 minutes before this event starts. Arrive early, and we’ll give you a numbered ticket. If there are any unfilled places just before the start time, we will invite you to enter in order of ticket number.
British Sign Language interpreted
The discussions, keynote talks and workshops will have British Sign Language interpretation. The 10.35 The Hydra Lives tour will also have British Sign Language interpretation, but not the other tours.
Hearing loop
There will be a hearing loop at this event.
Speech-to-text
The discussions and keynote talk in the Auditorium will be live-transcribed. The captions will be displayed on a screen in-venue. The tours and workshop will not have speech-to-text provision.
For more information, please visit our Accessibility page. If you have any queries about accessibility, please email us at [email protected] or call 020 7611 2222.
Our event terms and conditions
Image credit: 100 women from the collaborative art and research project Uncertain Futures, by artist Suzanne Lacy with Ruth Edson, Photograph by Andrew Brooks, 2022.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 0.00
