From the catastrophic impact of climate change to the enduring threat of nuclear annihilation, modern civilisation is in danger. Overseen by the conceptual artist and experimental philosopher Jonathon Keats, the Library of the Great Silence is a unique research facility dedicated to examining existential risks of the present, and to facilitating discussion about future flourishing, by investigating societal transformations from the past.

Instead of shelving books, the Library of the Great Silence collects objects, each of which is open to interpretation by everyone. Objects are chosen based on their pivotal significance from personal to global. Examples include stone tools, gold coins and silicon microchips.

Members of the public as well as places, museums and institutions are invited to bring or nominate objects for the Library. The objects will be displayed in an exhibition at the Alison Richard Building and also collected online with the Twitter hashtag #LibraryOfGreatSilence.

For more information and a full programme of activities around the Library of the Great Silence, please visit: https://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/sites/the-library-of-the-great-silence/
 

Talk: The Library of the Great Silence

With SETI Artist in Residence Jonathon Keats
March 29, 2023, 7pm BST

From the catastrophic impact of climate change to the enduring threat of nuclear annihilation, modern civilisation is in danger. Overseen by the conceptual artist and experimental philosopher Jonathon Keats, the Library of the Great Silence is a unique research facility dedicated to examining existential risks of the present, and to facilitating discussion about future flourishing, by investigating societal transformations from the past.

Instead of shelving books, ‘The Library of the Great Silence’ collects objects, each of which is open to interpretation by everyone. Objects are chosen based on their pivotal significance. Examples include stone tools, gold coins and silicon microchips.

Members of the public as well as institutions are invited to bring or nominate objects for the Library, that for them signify a catalyst of change, whether personal or professional. The objects will be displayed in an exhibition at the Alison Richard Building and also collected online with the Twitter hashtag #LibraryOfGreatSilence.

Jonathon Keats will demonstrate protocols and techniques for conducting research in the Library of the Great Silence and how the arrangement and organisation of transformational objects can be used to elucidate the past trajectory of civilisation in the interest of prediction, intervention and innovation.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/talk-the-library-of-the-great-silence-tickets-529321202967

Please note, this is a hybrid event, both in-person and online tickets are available.

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