WELCOME
The Grief Gallery
GRIEF AND LOSS EXPLORED THROUGH ART AND DESIGN
CURATOR, CHARLENE LAM
FEATURED EXHIBITION
Red Ribbon Dance
A classic Chinese dance form, the red ribbon dance has layers of meaning for me and my mom. Here’s why I dance in her memory.
PUTTING THE SPOTLIGHT ON
The Belongings of Loved Ones Lost
CURATED BY CHARLENE LAM
JOIN US AT
The Grief Gallery
The Grief Gallery presents exhibitions, installations and events featuring the belongings of loved ones lost during international design festivals, including NYCxDESIGN, the London Design Festival and DesignTO (Toronto).
After independent curator Charlene Lam lost her mother suddenly in 2013, she leaned into her creativity and curatorial instincts to guide herself through grief. Faced with the impossible task of emptying out her mother’s dream house, she asked herself:
“If I were to curate an exhibition about my mother, which 100 objects would I choose?”
That question — “If I were to curate an exhibition about my mother, which 100 objects would I choose?” — was the key to making progress with her mom’s belongings, moving through her grief and moving forward with her own life. It was also the seed for The Grief Gallery, with the first exhibition incorporating her mom’s belongings taking place in London in 2015.
In the years since, through The Grief Gallery, her work as a certified grief coach and her Curating Grief framework, she spotlights the objects left behind after a loved one dies as a powerful source of connection, awareness and healing.
This is The Grief Gallery’s core belief:
We are ALL curators after a loved one dies.
JOIN US LIVE
The Grief Gallery monthly gathering
Last Wednesday of every month at 2pm ET (NYC) / 7pm UK time
Meet up with curator Charlene Lam at our free monthly grief gathering, on Zoom the last Wednesday of the month.
Register to attend: https://www.charlenelam.com/gathering
Part of the Reimagine End of Life Event Calendar
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Upcoming Events
GRIEF WALKS
Grief walks have taken place in Chinatown, Manhattan and London, England. In the works: Lisbon, Portugal. Interested in participating? Sign up for the newsletter for updates.
Free Monthly Grief Gathering
GRIEF COACHING
Do you need help?
Need help with grief, or know someone who does?
Learn more about grief coaching and find resources from certified grief coach Charlene Lam.
WORK WITH ME
Curating Grief
It's a common problem:
How do you choose what to keep after a loved one dies?
An uncommon solution: Curating and Exhibitions
- Grief Speaker: Book Charlene to speak
- Commission an installation of The Grief Gallery for your event or community
- Grief Coaching: With the Curating Grief approach, we use the lens of curating and the tools of coaching to help you unpack your grief and losses. Let's deal with the physical and emotional "stuff" after a bereavement so you can feel lighter and less burdened.
Contact hello@charlenelam.com to learn more
PREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS
Curating Grief Pop-Up
Part of London Design Festival, Sept 2022
The Grief Gallery hits the streets of East London with a traveling plinth.
Red Ribbon Dance
A classic Chinese dance form, the red ribbon dance has layers of meaning for me and my mom. Here's why I dance in her memory.
She Was Asian American
Part of NYCxDESIGN, May 2022
Featuring photographs, belongings and stories of Asian American women, including the curator’s Chinese-American mother and other family members
6ft (a)part - The Grief Gallery at DesignTO
During Toronto’s annual design festival, The Grief Gallery welcomed visitors to acknowledge personal and collective losses through the contemplation and celebration of objects: the belongings of loved ones lost.
WHAT THE CAMERA CAPTURES
An online exhibition exploring the role of the camera in processing grief and loss during New York City's annual design festival. Three New York creatives who have lost loved ones share their photography-based projects.
The Grief Gallery: Created & Commissioned
Visitors are invited to explore these universal themes through creative work commissioned in memory of loved ones.
This Is How We Remember
The belongings of loved ones lost are captured in a series of illustrations by Brooklyn-based painter and designer Yeesan Loh.
ABOUT
Why a grief gallery? Learn More
The Grief Gallery was founded by curator and grief coach Charlene Lam.
Interested in learning more about grief coaching? Get in touch to book a complimentary call.
Follow
CONTACT
hello@thegriefgallery.com
EXHIBITIONS
Latest Exhibition: Red Ribbon Dance, Lunar New Year
Previous Exhibitions:
Curating Grief Pop-Up, London Design Festival 2022
She Was Asian American, NYCxDESIGN
The Grief Gallery in Toronto, Jan 2022
The Grief Gallery at NYCxDESIGN, Nov 11-18
The Grief Gallery, London Design Festival 2021
EVENTS
Join us for The Grief Gallery's monthly grief gathering the last Wednesday of the month.
More grief events from Charlene and The Grief Gallery
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