Honest Histories? Uncovering where Our Tasmanian tigers came from

Today, natural history museums are starting to research the full histories of how their collections were built, and this can bring to light some surprising and troubling stories. Thylacines, or Tasmanian tigers, are icons of extinction, and some of the world’s best-preserved specimens are in Cambridge’s University Museum of Zoology. New research there has uncovered an uncomfortable truth about how the history of the extinction of the thylacine had strong parallels with the violent events that took place in Tasmania in the nineteenth century. 

Join zoologist and author Jack Ashby (University of Cambridge), journalist and academic Lainy Malkani (University of the Arts London), and Elder uncle Hank Horton, a Pakana man from Trooloolway mob, lutruwita, Tasmania, in the inspiring setting of the Museum of Zoology for a conversation about Tasmanian tigers, museum collecting, and how to tell these difficult stories. The evening is also the launch of a new podcast miniseries exploring these topics, incorporating thought-provoking soundscapes and interviews. 

The series is part of a unique art/science collaboration between the Sonic Screen Lab, UAL (Lainy Malkani, Professor Shreepali Patel & Julia Schauerman), Hank Horton, and the Museum of Zoology (Jack Ashby).

After the talk, participants will have the chance to explore the galleries while they listen, and view the photographic series A Lost Place by Aletheia Casey, which combines manipulated images of recent Australian bushfires with pictures of preserved museum specimens of Australian species. Aletheia Casey will also introduce these images.

This event is part of the Cambridge Festival. 

Doors open at 6.45pm, the 'in conversation' is 7pm to 8pm. 

Tickets are FREE and booking is highly recommended. Event capacity 50.