Our friends Joanna Ebenstein and Aaron Beebe are yet again producing a faboulous Congress For Curious Peoples, April 13-22 at Coney Island USA. Here are all the details:
Presented by Morbid Anatomy Library and Coney Island USA, the 2012 Congress of Curious Peoples is a 10-day series of lectures, performances, and a 2-day symposium devoted to curiosity and curiosities broadly considered.
The Congress will take place this April 13-22; the 2-day scholarly-yet-popular symposium—The Congress for Curious Peoples—will place over the weekend of April 21 and 22.
SYMPOSIUM: THE 2012 CONGRESS FOR CURIOUS PEOPLE
SATURDAY APRIL 21st
11:00 – 12:00: Keynote Addresses
- Joanna Ebenstein, Morbid Anatomy Library
- Aaron Beebe, Coney Island Museum
12:00 – 1:00: Lunch
1:00 – 3:30: Immersive Amusements: Cosmoramas, Cycloramas and Panoramic Illusions: Panel discussion moderated and introduced by Aaron Beebe, Coney Island Museum
- Suzanne Wray
- Sara Velas, The Velaslavasay Panorama
- Jessica Routhier, The Saco Museum
- Errki Huhtamo, UCLA
- Russell Potter, Rhode Island College
- Denise Blake Oleksijczuk, Simon Fraser University
4:00 – 5:00: The Business of the Dead: Frederik Ruysch as an Entrepreneurial Anatomist, Lecture by Daniel Margocsy, Hunter College
5:00: Christmas in America: Miss Velma and the Evangelist Spectacle: Screening of “Christmas in America,” an early 1970s television special by Miss Velma, early TV evangelist, introduced by Daniel Paul
SUNDAY APRIL 22
11:00 – 1:00: Religion and Spectacle: A panel with discussion moderated and introduced by Joanna Ebenstein, Morbid Anatomy Library
- Paul Koudounaris, author of Empire of Death
- Shannon Taggart, Photographer
- The Venerable Tsering Phunstok
- Colin Dickey, author of Cranioklepty
1:00 – 2:30: Lunch and Sideshow Visit
2:30 – 3:30: Traveling Ethnographic Shows and Human Zoos, a lecture by Elizabeth Bradley
3:30 – 5:30: Theater Rethunk: An Alternative History of the Theatrical: A panel with discussion moderated and introduced by Chris Muller
- Amy Herzog, Queens College
- An as-of-yet unnamed representative of Sleep No More
- Chris Muller, New York University
- Dick Zigun, Founder of Coney Island USA
Full 10-day Congress Schedule:
Friday, April 13
Opening Night Party featuring The Lizard Man and the annual inductions into the Sideshow Hall of Fame.Saturday, April 14
Alumni Weekend at Sideshows by the Seashore (Continuous Admission, Tickets at the door); Colonnade of Curiosities in the Freak Bar.Sunday, April 15
Alumni Weekend at Sideshows by the Seashore (Continuous Admission, Tickets at the door); Colonnade of Curiosities in the Freak BarMonday April 16th
7:30 – (Lecture) Amy Herzog: Architectural Fictions: Economic Development, Immersive Renderings, and the Virtualization of Brooklyn
9:00 – (Performance) Shea Love and the Circus EmporiumTuesday April 17th
7:30 – (Lecture) Philip Kadish: “Pinhead Races and the White Man’s Burden”
9:00 – (Performance) The Squidling Bros SideshowWednesday April 18th
7:30 -(Lecture/Performance) ‘An Evening of Fate, Chance and Mystery’ with Lord Whimsy and Les the Mentalist
9:00 – (Performance) Jo BoobsThursday April 19th
7:30 – (Lecture/Performance) Erkki Huhtamo: “Mareorama Revisited”
9:00 – (Performance) The Curious Couple from Coney IslandFriday April 20th
7:30 – (Performance/Reading) TBA
9:00 – (Performance/Lecture) Sideshow Legend Jim RoseSaturday April 21st
Super Freak Weekend at Sideshows by the Seashore (Continuous Admission, Tickets at the door); Colonnade of Curiosities in the Freak Bar
Congress For Curious People (Day 1 of a 2-day Symposium)Sunday April 22nd
Super Freak Weekend at Sideshows by the Seashore (Continuous Admission, Tickets at the door); Colonnade of Curiosities in the Freak Bar
Congress For Curious People (Day 2 of a 2-day Symposium)
