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Curating happiness

, –
Past
  • Free
  • Discussion
  • British Sign Language interpreted (online)
  • Speech-to-text
  • Limited audio description
Photograph of a tablet standing on a wooden surface with a bright green cabinet and a branch of blossom in the background. A photographic portrait of Laurie Britton and George Vasey is on the tablet screen with video call icons "People", "Chat" and a red telephone icon.
Curating Happiness, Photo: Kathleen Arundell. Portrait of Laurie Britton (left) by Ian Atkinson. Portrait of George Vasey (right) by Thomas S.G. Farnetti. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Watch a recording of curators Laurie Britton Newell and George Vasey as they discuss the making and remaking of ‘Joy’ and ‘Tranquillity’, two exhibitions that form part of the ‘On happiness’ season.

In this honest and illuminating online event, the curators reflect on what they have learned about the elusive subject of happiness as part of this journey and how they hope the themes of the exhibits will resonate with visitors.  

Laurie and George audio-describe a short walk-through film of the ‘Joy’ and ‘Tranquillity’ exhibitions. They then discuss their experiences of pausing and starting the exhibition work in response to the cultural and political urgencies surfaced by the Covid-19 pandemic. The speakers respond to audience questions during the final 20 minutes.  

‘Joy’ and ‘Tranquillity’ are open 15 July 2021–9 January 2022.

Dates

, –
Past

Need to know

British Sign Language interpreted (online)

This event is British Sign Language interpreted. An interpreter will be embedded in the event livestream or visible on screen for online viewers.

Speech-to-text

This event will be live-transcribed. The captions will be displayed on a screen in-venue.

Limited audio description

The host and speakers will describe themselves and key visual elements they refer to. There will not be a separate audio description track.

For more information, please visit our Accessibility page. If you have any queries about accessibility, please email us at access@wellcomecollection.org or call

Our event terms and conditions

About your speakers

Head and shoulder photo of Laurie Britton Newell, a person with brown hair wearing a black blazer and white collared shirt. They are looking to their left.

Laurie Britton Newell

Laurie Britton Newell is an independent curator and art consultant with over 25 years of experience in exhibition-making, curatorial strategy, art commissioning, cultural master planning and inclusive public programming for public museums and private clients. Working across art, design, architecture and health, she has curated exhibitions including Wellcome Collection's '1880 THAT' (2025) and 'In Plain Sight' (2023), as well as 'Memory Palace' (2013) and others at the Victoria and Albert Museum. She has also written and lectured extensively on inclusive practice, art and design.

George Vasey

(he/him)

George Vasey is a curator currently working on projects with Wellcome Collection and Leeds Art Gallery. He has curated exhibitions and projects in public, academic and commercial contexts. He has previously worked as a curator at the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland and as a curatorial fellow at Newcastle University. In 2017 he co-curated the Turner Prize. His writing has been published in Art Monthly, Art Review, Burlington Contemporary, Frieze and Mousse, as well as numerous artists’ catalogues and books. He regularly teaches and has mentored artists, writers and curators for various organisations.

  • Season

On Happiness

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A season of free events, activities and two exhibitions which celebrate the complexity of happiness and invite you to explore the big questions about positive feelings.