Wednesday, February 5, 2025 - 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Richard Pell is the founder and executive director of the Center for PostNatural History, the world’s first museum dedicated to exploring and challenging public understanding of our postnatural world. The museum specializes in living organisms that have been intentionally altered as a result of human culture. From domestication to genetic engineering, these organisms are rarely afforded much attention from conventional museums of natural history. Pell will discuss the historic patterns that led to this blindspot, as well as examples of the exhibits that now occupy it.
"Human desire, curiosity, and fear shape the evolution of certain plants and animals just as they shape architecture, technology, art, music, and sports. Portions of the living world are cultural works, with provenance, attribution, responsibilities, and consequences.” From "This Is NOT An Artifact" (K-Verlag, Berlin, 2024) by Rich Pell