The Empathy Museum has a new podcast!

Big news from the Empathy Museum – we’ve made a podcast!

You might know that a couple of years ago I was involved in founding the Empathy Museum, an international travelling arts project that has so far appeared in Brazil, Australia, the UK, the US, Belgium and even Siberia (watch our intro video here).

Now, for the first time, the Empathy Museum is coming directly to you! Every week over the next year we’ll be releasing one of the stories we’ve gathered for our hit exhibit A Mile in My Shoes. So far we’ve heard from Bilal – a top amateur boxer seeking asylum in the UK, Sian – a lifesaver on the Thames, Saige – a sexual healer from Melbourne, and Gary – a prisoner-turned-artist from London.

You can listen and subscribe to A Mile in My Shoes on Acast and iTunes.

We recommend downloading to your phone, slipping on some headphones and taking a stroll while listening. If you like what you hear, please do share the podcast with others, or leave a quick review on iTunes – it really helps us get noticed by their (not very empathic) algorithms.

Huge thanks are due to the Empathy Museum’s brilliant director Clare Patey and her team. Thanks also to Loftus Media for producing the podcast, The Space for funding it, and all our fabulous audio producers who’ve taken such care collecting the stories.

Where we’ve been recently

Last month we set up shop for ten days in Worcester city centre, in collaboration with the locally based Company of Others. We traded shoes with nearly a thousand visitors and collected seventeen new stories from the people of Worcestershire. Here we are on the local news!

We also joined in with Arrival – the Mayor of London’s celebration of the Windrush generation at City Hall. We were particularly delighted to share the story and shoes of Allan Wilmot – a Jamaican who came to England after fighting in WWII and was giving a talk at the event.

And elsewhere, we brought our collection of NHS stories to the NHS Confederation annual conference and exhibition in Manchester and Glasgow – part of our ongoing collaboration with The Health Foundation.

The Mayor of Worcester, Jabba Riaz, walking a mile in the shoes of Tristan, a local dairy farmer whose story we collected during our time in the city. Photo: Andy Burton.

Where to find us next

In September we’re travelling to Cumbria for Lakes Alive – a free festival of art, performance, sculpture and workshops. Come and find some new shoes and walk a mile up and down the Lake District hills (we’ll be sure to bring our collection of walking boots!)
7 – 9 September, Lake District, Kendal
Find out more

Later in September we’re bringing a sprinkling of empathy to freshers’ week at the University of Sussex, when our shoebox lands at the university’s Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts. If you’re a student there or not, come say hello!
14 – 23 September, University of Sussex, BN1 9RA
Find out more

Then this autumn we’re part of National Theatre of Scotland’s Futureproof festival, celebrating the country’s Year of Young People. We’ve been collecting new stories and shoes from young people around Moray, and we’ll be sharing them from our shoebox in Forres and Elgin.
29 September – 10 October, Scotland
Find out more

…And finally, in October we’ll be shipping our shoes across the Atlantic for the Future of Storytelling summit in New York, to explore how storytelling is changing in the digital age.
3 – 4 October, Snug Harbour Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, NYC
Find out more

If you’d like to keep up with all the Empathy Museum news, please subscribe here for occasional updates.

I hope you have a wonderful summer. I’ll be busy working on a new book on the art of long-term thinking, trying to walk in the shoes of future generations (let me know below if you’ve got any good book, film or other recommendations…).

Posted on 27 July 2018 by Roman Krznaric 0

1001 Books is now open! And come and borrow a stranger too…

The Empathy Museum’s new pop-up library, A Thousand and One Books, is now up and running (and looking rather beautiful). It’s outside the NOW gallery, next to the O2 Arena in London. Come and visit! The show will be open until July 2.

As part of the festivities, we’re holding a Human Library event on June 25, where instead of borrowing a book you can borrow a stranger for conversation. Our ‘living books’ include an Iraqi refugee, a Holocaust survivor and a community organiser. Reserve a ticket here. There will also be storytelling and an empathy-based film on the day.

The show naturally includes our famous giant shoebox, A Mile In My Shoes, where you put on the shoes of a stranger and literally walk in them while listening to an audio narrative of them talking about their life. There are over 50 stories, including an Imam who is the UK’s first Muslim chaplin, a sex worker, and a Sikh taxi driver.

We’re still looking for books for the library, so if you would like to make a contribution of your favourite book to share with a stranger, you can do so here. Our collection already includes books donated by a huge range of people, from prisoners to Sir Ian McKellan. (Also, check out our newly-launched website for the project.)

With Britain about to vote on its place in Europe, and the enormous fear of immigrants that has been generated as part of the political debate, this is an important time to spread the message of the Empathy Museum – that if we want to build a democratic culture of peace and tolerance, we need to learn to see the world through the eyes of people who are different from us and hear their individual stories.

Best wishes

Roman

Founder, Empathy Museum

Posted on 21 June 201621 June 2016 by Roman Krznaric 0

1001 Books: Take part in the Empathy Museum’s new project!

Is there a book – one you absolutely love – that you would like to share with someone you’ve never met?

The internationally acclaimed Empathy Museum is asking 1001 people to donate a book to a unique pop-up library called A THOUSAND AND ONE BOOKS, which will appear at the London International Festival of Theatre in June, then tour in the UK and internationally.

To take part, you simply need to visit this website. You’ll be asked to give the name of your book, why you love it, and donate £10, which will be used to buy it from an independent bookshop.

Your book will then appear in the library with your dedication on the cover, where it can be read, borrowed, passed on or left on a park bench for a stranger. You’ll be able to track your book’s journey online as it travels the world, and find out who read it and what they thought of it.

I’ve just donated a book – Theodore Zeldin’s beautiful, witty and humane masterpiece, An Intimate History of Humanity.

I’d be so grateful if you would be a part of this project – we’d love to have your book in the library!

Roman Krznaric

Founder, The Empathy Museum

Posted on 6 May 2016 by Roman Krznaric 0

There’s a Giant Shoe Box on the River Thames: It’s the Empathy Museum!

This weekend in London the world’s first Empathy Museum opened its doors. It’s a moment I’ve been dreaming about for years. Seeing it actually come to life has been completely thrilling, even overwhelming.

There has been a constant stream of visitors to our launch exhibit, A Mile in My Shoes, a giant shoe box on the banks of the River Thames by Vauxhall Bridge. I’ve seen a 75-year-old woman scooting along the riverside on roller skates while listening to the story of a roller derby champion. I’ve seen curious men slip on the size 12 stilettos of a bearded drag queen. I noticed a woman almost in tears listening to the narrative of someone who lost members of her family in a tragic accident, while I was told by others that the very same story made them feel empowered and more fully alive. Children giggled as they ran along in the size 1 gym shoes of a local schoolgirl and discovered how she saw the world. Continue reading →

Posted on 7 September 201517 September 2015 by Roman Krznaric 0

Two Days Left: Support the World’s First Empathy Museum

‘Sewerman’ Gari Pattison tells his story at the Empathy Museum

We’ve got just two days left to fund the launch of the Empathy Museum. If you’ve been pondering giving support, or haven’t yet got around to it, now is the time! We’ve nearly hit £10,000 – just a little more and we’ll be there.

PLEASE DONATE HERE

Our launch exhibit, A Mile in My Shoes, is going to be fabulous. You’ll step into the shoes of people like ‘sewerman’ Gari Pattison, as well as others including a refugee, a sea captain, a drag queen and a dog walker. I’ve just been listening to one extraordinary contribution from a man sentenced to 14 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Just imagine having the chance to walk in his actual shoes as you listen to his story.

I realise that there are a lot of good causes out there that you could be contributing to, so why give to the Empathy Museum?

It’s absolutely unique. It’s the world’s first exhibition dedicated specifically to promoting empathic understanding, and based on the latest neuroscience and psychology research.
This is an urgent issue. Empathy is on the decline: we see the spectre of rising racism around immigration issues, an escalation of online abuse, and a plague of hyperindividualism fuelled by an overdose of consumer culture.
Be part of a global movement. We’re taking the Empathy Museum around the world, starting with the UK and Australia, and we’ve had invitations to bring it to cities including Paris, Beirut and Calgary. This is going to be big.
Your contribution will make a tangible difference. All donations will go directly to fund our exhibit – helping us collect more stories and shoes for our shoe shop and take the Empathy Museum into communities where it’s really needed.

Most crowd-funding campaigns receive the majority of their donations in the last 48 hours. So please prove the statistics right by making your donation here.

Thank you, and I hope you can make it to our opening exhibit in September.

Roman

Roman Krznaric, Founder, Empathy Museum

Photo of Gari Pattison by Rachel Simpson

Posted on 24 August 2015 by Roman Krznaric 0

Just 8 Days Left to Fund the Empathy Museum Launch

Are you ready to step into Timberlina’s shoes?

We’ve got just 8 days left to fund the launch of the Empathy Museum and would love your help to make it happen!

Our inaugural exhibition, A Mile in My Shoes, will open on the Thames riverside in London on September 4 as part of the Totally Thames festival. A Mile in My Shoes is an empathy shoe shop where visitors are invited to walk in the actual shoes of another person whilst being immersed in an audio narrative of their life.

Our brilliant team have been hard at work finalising the designs. The empathy shoe shop already includes the skates of a Roller Derby Champion, the dress-shoes of a Chess Grand Master, the waders of Crayfish Bob and the sky-high heels of bearded drag queen Timberlina – and every pair is accompanied by extraordinary, moving and surprising stories. We’re counting down the days until we open our doors and we really need your help to complete the finishing touches, and give us the budget we need to take the exhibit on the road to a town near you.

Our crowd funding campaign has been gathering pace and our generous supporters have so far helped us raise 45% of what we need – now we’ve got just a week left to meet our budget so I’m writing to ask for your help. Many of you have generously pledged already. If you haven’t we’d be incredibly grateful for your support with a donation big or small.

Thank you and I hope to see you in the shoe shop in September!

Roman Krznaric

Founder, Empathy Museum

Posted on 19 August 2015 by Roman Krznaric 0

Support the launch of the Empathy Museum!

The big day is coming: on September 4 the Empathy Museum launches its inaugural exhibition, A Mile in My Shoes, on the Thames riverside in London as part of the Totally Thames festival.

Please do come along to our opening exhibit if you can. It will be open 4th-27th September, Wednesday to Sunday, 12noon to 6pm at Riverside Gardens near Vauxhall Bridge.

A Mile in My Shoes – Crowd Funding Campaign

A Mile in My Shoes is an empathy shoe shop, where visitors are invited to walk in the actual shoes of another person, ranging from a paediatric brain surgeon and a market trader to a refugee and a chess grand master. While walking along for a mile in someone else’s shoes you are immersed in an audio narrative of their life.

To help support the launch we have just started a crowd funding campaign at Indiegogo to raise the additional £15,000 we need to house the exhibit in a specially designed giant shoebox, and then tour it.

I would be hugely grateful if you took a few minutes to visit the campaign page here and make a pledge.

Please also share the campaign page link on twitter, facebook and other channels. Sample tweet: Join the Empathy Revolution and support the launch of the world’s first @empathymuseum http://igg.me/at/TheEmpathyMuseum/x/11618909

The Empathy Museum has already captured the public imagination. It’s been featured in the media around the world, and we’ve received invitations to take it everywhere from Paris to Beirut. Our first international exhibit will be in Australia in 2016.

The museum is based on ideas in my book Empathy. Its director is the acclaimed artist and curator Clare Patey.

Your support will help make the Empathy Museum a reality and launch it onto a global stage. Please join us.

Best wishes

Roman Krznaric

Founder, The Empathy Museum

www.empathymuseum.com

Posted on 5 August 2015 by Roman Krznaric 0

Ever Been to an Empathy Shoe Shop?

It’s official: the Empathy Museum will be opening its doors in September 2015, as part of Totally Thames, the huge and vibrant annual festival taking place along London’s waterfront.

Personally, this is a big day for me. I’ve been dreaming about the Empathy Museum for years, and wrote about it in my book Empathy. I’m thrilled that it’s now becoming a reality.

As discussed in this feature article in today’s Independent newspaper, one of the main exhibits will be ‘A Mile in My Shoes’, which takes the form of a unique empathy shoe shop. One of the shop assistants will fit you out with a pair of shoes belonging to someone from a different background – maybe a Syrian refugee or an Old Etonian investment banker – and you will be able to literally walk a mile in their shoes while listening to a recording of them talking about their life, so you really get to see the world from their perspective.

We’ll also be running events such as Human Libraries, where instead of borrowing a book you borrow a person for conversation.

The Empathy Museum will later travel to other London venues then around the country in a bespoke eco bus, visiting schools and galleries, town centres and supermarket car parks, cliff tops and office blocks.

It will also launch online and be touring internationally. In February 2016, the Empathy Museum is going to Australia, appearing as a centrepiece of the Perth International Arts Festival.

The museum is being masterminded by its Director, the internationally renowned artist and curator Clare Patey.

To keep up with the Empathy Museum’s development and tour programme, sign up here. And please spread the word!

Posted on 25 June 2015 by Roman Krznaric 0

Are you coming to the Empathy Festival?

Hello Friends of Empathy! I’ve got a few dates for your diary…

June 4: Empathy paperback launch

The UK paperback of my book Empathy is out this week, and comes with a snappy new subtitle (Empathy: Why It Matters, and How to Get It). Get yourself a copy on Amazon or at your local independent store.

I’m delighted about the book’s impact so far. Organisations like Friends of the Earth have picked up on it, and I’ve been taking the ideas abroad having done book tours in the US, Canada, the Netherlands and most recently Croatia.

It would be great if you could spend two minutes today helping spread word about the paperback release on Twitter, Facebook and face to face. For your convenience, here’s a sample tweet: Want to start an Empathy Revolution? Find the inspiration you need in @romankrznaric’s new book Empathy http://ow.ly/NDSBH

June 5-11: Empathy Festival at Blackwell’s Bookshop Oxford
I’m curating the world’s first Empathy Festival with the wonderful Blackwell’s Bookshop. I’ll be launching it with a talk on Empathy and Family Life on June 5. Other speakers include philosopher Peter Singer, historian Theodore Zeldin, and radical geographer Danny Dorling. Get your tickets here.

September: Launch of the Empathy Museum
I’m also pleased to announce that my Empathy Museum project will be launching in September, masterminded by its brilliant director, the world-renowned artist and curator Clare Patey. It will start in a mobile eco bus containing an Empathy Shoe Shop, which will travel around the country and host events such as Human Libraries. We’ll then be taking the Empathy Museum to the Perth International Arts Festival in Australia in February. Watch the video, check out the website, and sign up for updates.

I hope to see you somewhere on the empathy trail, and thanks for helping to spread the word.

Roman

Posted on 2 June 20151 June 2015 by Roman Krznaric 0

Empathy Museum hosts ‘Human Library’ at Whitechapel Gallery

Ever visited a Human Library?

As part of the lead-in to the official launch of the Empathy Museum later this year, we are holding our first ever event this coming Sunday, May 10 at the renowned Whitechapel Gallery in East London.

The Human Library is part of Refashion East, a weekend of events exploring London’s fashion industry from its historic roots in the East End rag trade.

Visitors will have a chance to step into the shoes of those who create the fashion industry by ‘borrowing’ them for a one to one conversation. A Human Library is like any other library, except that all the Books are people with a story to share – Living Books. There will be 20 Living Books on the shelves of the Whitechapel Gallery, telling stories from their unique perspective of the fashion business. You might find yourself speaking with a Primark sales assistant, an 80-year-old fabric merchant, a high-end tailor, a fashion designer, an up-cycler or a cobbler.

You can get your tickets here – be quick, they are in short supply.

Find out more about the Refashion East weekend in Time Out.

The Empathy Museum is an experiential project exploring the art of empathy through stepping into the shoes of other people and looking at the world though their eyes. Discover what it’s all about in our video.

Posted on 6 May 2015 by Roman Krznaric 0