Mortal Matters

Grief is deeply rooted in our shared human story. But mortality isn’t just a human experience, it’s woven into the fabric of the universe itself, where stars are born and die, and planets form and break apart. What happens on Earth happens in the cosmos, too. 

Mortal Matters is an invitation to sit with that truth. Through talks, workshops, and guided tours, we’re weaving together three ways of understanding life’s end: the practice, the science, and the story. End-of-life and funeral professionals share what they know from the front lines of loss. Astrophysicists, cultural anthropologists, and forensic experts unpack the science, from dying stars to grieving societies to the anatomy of corpses. Artists and authors shape the story, giving form to how we imagine and talk about endings at all. 

Mortal Matters offers a rare chance to engage mortality on Earth and beyond it.