Doors: 17:30
Event start: 18:00
Seated event
This conversation is held in Norwegian
How can we talk openly and honestly about death while still showing consideration? Must one come to terms with death in order to face it? And how has the perception of death changed from Edvard Munch’s time to today? The conversation Who Cares about Death? is based on Kaveh Rashidi's essay on Munch's painting Death in the Sickroom, written for the MUNCH publication Edvard Munch. Lifeblood.
About the series Who Cares?
Death in the Sickroom, The Sick Child, Melancholy: Edvard Munch had a visual language for life’s fragile and vulnerable aspects. Many of his works address themes that are personal to all and private to some, such as illness, death and difference. In public discourse, we tend to approach these topics with caution, out of consideration for those affected. But can caution become excessive, and can such overzealous care erode compassion and obscure nuance?
In connection with the exhibition Edvard Munch. Lifeblood, MUNCH invites you to the conversation series Who Cares? Over several discussions in the autumn of 2025, authors, doctors and art historians will reflect on how art influences our conceptions of body and gender, health and illness, life and death.
Kaveh Rashidi is a physician, author and social commentator, known for making medical and existential issues accessible to a wide audience. He has written several books, including Senk skuldrene (Just relax) and Kanskje du er frisk (Maybe you’re healthy), and is an active columnist in Norwegian newspapers. In his writings and lectures, he speaks honestly and empathetically about health, life and death, and how we deal with these issues as a society.
Zeenat Amiri Waaler is an art historian, educated at the University of Oslo, and has worked as an art mediator at Munchmuseet since 2016. She engages with the public in the museum’s exhibition spaces and through the museum’s digital productions. Zeenat is dedicated to making art accessible to a wider audience, focusing on demystifying the exhibition space and creating inclusive experiences for a diverse audience.
©Jorun Valle Nilsen, Ole Magnus Amiri Waaler
