Exhibition
Dearly Departed: Mourning & Memory
| October 7, 2023 — January 28, 2024 | |
| South Gallery |
How do we reckon with death? How do we wish to be remembered? Dearly Departed: Mourning and Memory explores the inescapable truth of our mortality and how people have confronted it. Whether a loved one or a public figure, people have memorialized and honored others they care about. Art, fashion, and literature—from gravestone designs to ghost stories—help us process grief and find comfort. The exhibition showcases artifacts, costumes, and ephemera that reveal the many ways people maintain connections to ones they have lost and celebrate their legacy.
Exhibition-Related Events & Programs
October 10, 2023 | 6:30-7:30 pm | Local to Fairfield | Dearly Departed: Mourning & Memory
October 15, 2023 | 1-3 pm | A Grief Poetry Workshop
October 26-28, 2023 | 5:30-6:30 pm | Lantern Tour: Fairfield’s Old Burying Ground
October 28, 2023 | 10 am & 11:30 am | Lantern Tour: Greenfield Hill Cemetery
October 28, 2023 | 12 pm & 1:30 pm | Lantern Tour: Oak Lawn Cemetery
January 20, 2024 | 10 am- 4 pm | Genealogy 101 Drop-in Session
January 20, 2024 | 1 – 2 pm | Legacy Planning Workshop
Image: Painted silk mourning picture, circa 1815, by Sarah Turney. Gift of Richard Trubee Staples, 1976.93
Exhibition Supporters
Dearly Departed: Mourning & Memory, and its related programs, are made possible by the generous support of Oak Lawn Cemetery & Arboretum and Spear Miller Funeral Home.