OBJECTS OF EMOTION How our minds bring things to life.

As humans, we have an ability to empathise with one another. Reading emotions and sharing them are integral to our survival and social cohesion. But why is it that objects can also spark these feelings in us? When we watch puppets, what triggers our emotions? Is it their movement or is it simply the stories they tell? And can we be just as moved by everyday objects?

None of these questions have straightforward answers, but in this unique event we'll uncover the latest science exploring the mysteries of empathy in puppetry and elsewhere in culture. 

The morning will start with an extract of Blind Summit’s critically acclaimed performance The Table, followed by discussion about the relationship between puppeteers and puppets. Satellite performances will happen over lunch, followed by a discussion about the ways we relate to objects in the afternoon.  

Tickets for this event are £20 (£15 for Students) and include a full day of discussion and performance as well as lunch and refreshments. 

Organised in association with Central School of Speech & Drama, University of London. 

With thanks to Puppet Centre Trust.  

Speakers: 

Ken Arnold, Head of Public Programmes, Wellcome Collection 

Steven Connor, Professor of Modern Literature and Theory at Birkbeck, University of London, and author of Paraphernalia: The curious lives of magical things. 

Mark Down, Co-Artistic Director, Blind Summit Theatre.

Penny Francis MBE, world-leading puppetry practitioner.

Patrick Haggard, Professor of Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London

Francesca Happé, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London.

Melissa Trimmingham, Senior Lecturer in Drama and Theatre Studies, University of Kent.

Facilitator: 

Brian Dillon, journalist, author and critic.  

For more information about the Wellcome Collection, including how to get there, please visit www.wellcomecollection.org