According to their website, the Death Salon is a collective of “historians, writers, artists, musicians, death professionals, and armchair researchers shining a light on the culture of death denial by engaging with mortality via various media.” The main minds behind this project include Caitlin Doughty (founder of The Order of the Good Death), Sarah Troop and Megan Rosenbloom.
From October 5-6, the Death Salon will join forces with the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia to host two days of talks, artifact-ogling, tours, food, dance and art. The Mütter is one of the world’s great pathological museums, where the public can view 19th century medical implements and learn about how attitudes toward human mortality have shifted since then.
Featured experts will speak on topics including: Putting the Rave in Graveyard: Bringing a Cemetery to Life; Hart Island: The World’s Biggest Tax-Funded Cemetery; Los Angelitos: The Rituals and Art of Child Death in Mexico; Dying Trans: Preserving Identity In Death; and Exquisite Corpses: Our Dialog with the Dead in Museums.
Who knew that death could be this interesting?