About
Save the date for this unique after-hours event at The National Gallery: Friday 22 May, 6–8pm. Booking link opens 18th May 9am here (free to participate, but places are limited).
Be among the first to take part in a series of 15-minute conversations reflecting on earthly delights and exploring the pleasures, appetites, vulnerabilities and pains of the flesh.
Hosted in Gallery 18 beneath the fleshy Rubens, these dialogues offer a counterpoint to the current exhibition of Francisco de Zurbarán, whose devotional and saintly paintings evoke moments of profound spiritual intensity.
Guided by a thought-provoking question inspired by the paintings around you, each conversation invites reflection on the bodily, emotional and human experiences that shape our lives — and may stay with you long after the evening ends.
Tickets
Free
You need to book a ticket to attend this event. Please book for only one session. Tickets will be available from 11am on Monday, 18 May 2026.
The Philosophers
Lucy McDonald (KCL)
Henry Schiller (KCL)
Sean Maroney (KCL)
Vanessa Brassey (KCL)
Colette Olive (Leeds)
and special guest Andy West, author of ‘The Life Inside: A Memoir of Prison, Family and Learning to be Free* (Picador 2022) and executive producer of the acclaimed BBC One series ‘Waiting for the Out’, and Philosopher in Residence at the therapeutic prison HMP Grendon.
Please arrive in good time to access the building and find the meeting place in the advertised room.