WELCOME

The Grief Gallery

GRIEF AND LOSS EXPLORED THROUGH ART AND DESIGN

Presented by Grief Grit Grace

Photo by Alexandra Rowley for Curio magazine

CURRENT EXHIBITION

The Grief Gallery:

What the Camera Captures

Part of NYCxDESIGN, Nov 11-18, 2021

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.

ALEXANDRA ROWLEY

PORTRAIT

2007 – 2010, 2018

Alexandra Rowley, award-winning artist and photographer/director, created a “conceptual portrait” of her father, documenting his belongings, his life and his city for her project PORTRAIT.

See Project

LORA APPLETON

AD.POP

Lora Appleton, founder of Kinder MODERN & Female Design Council, photographed her pop (her maternal grandfather) for her project AD.POP, documenting his last five years with Alzheimers until he passed.

See Project

CHARLENE LAM

MAKE IT PRETTY

2021

Charlene Lam, creative grief guide and curator of The Grief Gallery, commissioned product photographer Elena Andronache to capture a selection of her late mother’s belongings, in an effort to preserve and elevate them.

See Project

LIVE TALK

Conversation: What the Camera Captures

Wed Nov 17th, 5-5:45pm ET (note new time)

Join artists Lora Appleton and Alexandra Rowley in conversation with curator Charlene Lam of The Grief Gallery about their photography-based projects and the role of creativity in processing their grief and losses. Register: https://bit.ly/grief-nycxdesign2021

Register for Talk

CURATOR’S NOTE

Why a Grief Gallery?

When my mom died 8 years ago, I was working as an independent curator in London. My pop-up exhibitions showcased the work of designers, makers and artists, under the names Creative Clerkenwell and The Creative Edit.

When it came time to pick out an urn for my mom’s ashes, I commissioned a custom porcelain urn from an East London ceramicist whose work I loved.

That was the start of my work as a Grief Curator. Over the years, I’ve commissioned illustrations, paper art and photoshoots in memory of my mom and others’ loved ones. I’ve presented exhibitions in London and Brooklyn about grief and loss.

Channeling my grief into creating and commissioning work from designers and makers has been an incredibly rewarding and healing experience.

After an extended period of grief and loss on many levels, I invite visitors to explore the universal themes of grief and loss through this creative lens. Out of darkness and pain, we can craft beauty and create meaning.

– Charlene C Lam, Grief Curator
hello@griefgritgrace.com