An artist's impression of the Departures board in the courtyard at Somerset House
Workshop

Arrivals + Departures: Death Cafe

Sun 13 Sep
12.00 - 14.00
Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court

An open-air invitation to join us for tea and cake in the Death Cafe discussion space. 

Use this opportunity to discuss death and dying in a safe space for sharing understandings, ideas and experiences. Death Cafe's aim is to increase awareness of death to help people make the most of their finite lives.

Led by Emma Curtis, Ash Hayhurst and Debi Lewinson-Roberts.
 

About the speakers

Emma Curtis is both consultant and collaborator for the Arrivals + Departures public programme. She combines her 30-year career as an operatic contralto soloist with being an award-winning secular minister, grief counsellor and psychological therapist. She is the CEO of Ceremony Matters providing advanced training to funeral celebrants and has a grief and resiliency practice in London’s West End.

Ash Hayhurst is the author of Making informed choices when planning a funeral – a guide for queer people and has written articles for the Funeral Service Journal and ICCM journal. Before becoming a funeral arranger, Ash volunteered with LGBT+ charities Stonewall Housing and Educate & Celebrate helping to develop workshops and resources for young people. 

Debi Lewinson-Roberts is a Funeral Celebrant who has bespoke insight and experiential knowledge of African-Caribbean funeral practices.  Her working knowledge of diverse cultural and religious practices enables her to work with families on a deeper and more meaningful level. Debi has a background in education, training & development and not-for-profit management and is a member of the Fellowship of Professional Celebrants.

This event is produced in collaboration with artist duo YARA + DAVINA and Artsadmin.

Please be aware that this event encourage discussion about birth and death and is guided and facilitated by industry professionals.