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Gallery Talk: Art and Human Health—An Evolutionary Perspective

A page spread depicts the same man in different body positions.
Katsushika Hokusai, Hokusai Manga (Hokusai Sketchbooks), vol. 8, Japan, Edo period, 1814–78. Woodblock-printed book; ink and light color on paper. Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mrs. Henry Osborn Taylor, 1928.15.63.

Gallery Talk

In-Person
Harvard Art Museums
32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA

This event was rescheduled from April 9th.

Join Ben Sibson, a graduate student at Harvard in human evolutionary biology, for a conversation about how art can enhance our understanding of the evolution of human health. Looking at works of art installed in the University Study Gallery this semester for the undergraduate course Human Evolution and Human Health, Sibson will show how the objects provide useful information about the physical activities performed by people across time and space, as well as the foods they ate, the clothes they wore, and the spaces where they lived.

Led by:
Ben Sibson, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, and Head Teaching Fellow for Human Evolution and Human Health (GEN ED 1027)

This talk is part of a series inspired by ReFrame, a museum-wide initiative to reimagine the function, role, and future of the university art museum. These talks examine difficult histories, foreground untold stories, and experiment with new approaches to the collections of the Harvard Art Museums, reflecting the concerns of our world today.

Gallery talks are limited to 18 people, and it is required that you reserve your place. At 10am the day of the event, reservations will open and may be arranged online through this form. The gallery talk reservation will also serve as your general museum reservation. If required, visitors will pay the museum admission fee upon arrival.

Please meet in the Calderwood Courtyard, in front of the digital screens between the shop and the admissions desk.

Please visit the website to learn about our general policies for museum visits.