The Art of Dying Well
Our podcast aims to make death and dying something we can talk about openly without discomfort or fear. Presented by James Abbott, our award-winning show features James in conversation with a guest on a key topic related to the Art of Dying Well, taking in everything from being at the bedside of a dying loved one, to receiving a terminal diagnosis. Coping with grief, bereavement, death, dying, and much more are all under discussion.
The Art of Dying Well
Art and the Afterlife | Episode 43
Since the dawn of time, people have been asking those huge existential questions: What comes next? What happens to us after we die? These questions have preoccupied artists, writers, thinkers, medics, teachers, religious leaders – pretty much all of us at one time or another.
Art and the Afterlife was an event held at The Exchange, a theatre in Twickenham run by St Mary’s University. It was part of an ongoing project exploring the many ways people understand and reflect on death and the afterlife with a view to improving our shared literacy around death - particularly in end-of-life contexts.
This 20-minute podcast was recorded just before the three panelists stepped out on stage. We spoke to ebullient art historian Lynne Hanley, former Sotheby’s auctioneer and founder of the brilliant christian.art website, Father Patrick van der Vorst, and the knowledgeable, and ever-wise Baroness Sheila Hollins who, as well as discussing her series of marvellous word-free picture books, also shared her granddaughter’s award-winning and poignant artwork that looks through Mary's eyes as she mourns Jesus on the cross.