New York City Memento Mori Fest
May 2 and 3, 2025

SYMPOSIUM & AFTERPARTY SCHEDULE
12pm - 5pm
ARAS - Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism
(28 E 39th St, New York, NY 10016, United States)

Memento Mori: The Art of Contemplating Death to Live a Better Life
Morbid Anatomy Founder and Author Joanna Ebenstein
This talk will introduce the speaker’s new book Memento Mori: The Art of Contemplating Death to Live a Better Life, and introduce its core concepts.

Bibliophantoms
Asti Hustvedt, PhD, author of Medical Muses
What happens when we read? How does the consciousness, or soul, or mind of an invisible author, an author who may no longer be alive, come to life and possess our consciousness, or soul or mind? In this talk—a response to the recent death of her brother-in-law, the novelist Paul Auster—Asti Hustvedt explores books as memento mori and reading as necromancy, a way to revive the dead.

The Poetry Skull Speaks!
Evan Michelson of TV’s Oddities
A human skull found in a doctor’s estate displays antique markings but they’re not anatomical; they are all lines from poems, both famous and little-known, that examine the brevity of life, the nature of mortality, and the ultimate futility of human endeavor. This is a dramatic reading of those poems and stanzas, all of which were compiled as a memento mori, inscribed on a cranium, more than 100 years ago.

What About Dying?
Artist Margot McLean
To engage fully in dying is the ultimate work of art; it is inherently collaborative, and since death has its own life force, shows no signs of finishing. Margot McLean will show images of work she created during a time in her life where the veil between life and death became more porous; inviting insights, illuminations, surprises and curiosities.

Famous Mediums: Talking to the Dead in Pop Culture
Medium and Author Tiffany Hopkins
Connecting with our loved ones on the other side is a powerful way to learn about death. It allows us to maintain our existing relationships, extending them through time and past the limits of physical space. But unfortunately, it’s still taboo. In this talk, medium Tiffany Hopkins will walk us through a delightful collection of pop culture examples of people talking to the dead to feel better in life. From the unexpected, like the materialist Sheldon Cooper of The Big Bang Theory, to the category-defining Cole Sear in The Sixth Sense and the definition-expanding Bene Gesserit of Dune, these beloved characters help us all find a little more acceptance and permission to do our own talking to the dead.

Funeral Planning as a Spiritual Practice
Funeral Director Amy Cunningham
Funerals are now a sequence of potentially transformative experiences, and you can partake in the designing of your end-of-life "roll out" as a spiritual practice, refining details as you live your life and share plans with friends. Our guide for this rapid-fire tour of what's possible is death ritual disruptor and earth-friendly funeral director Amy Cunningham, a longtime friend and supporter of Morbid Anatomy.

AFTERPARTY
5pm - 6:30pm
VIP Afterparty at ARAS with wine, live performance, library tour, and rare book viewing

DAY 2: CURATED OFFSITE EVENTS

Sunday, May 4. Click here for details.

Please note: Refunds are not available for this event.