Virtual program to explore how people respond to grief

DETROIT (AP) — Members of the global Science Gallery Network in Detroit, Atlanta and Dublin, Ireland, are collaborating on a program that will feature discussions on grief.

The free international online event called Science of Grief is scheduled Wednesday on Science Gallery Dublin ’s YouTube page and will be followed by a virtual after-party on Science Gallery Detroit’s Instagram Live.

Academics, researchers, scientists, health care workers, artists, storytellers and musicians will provide content on responding to many forms of grief.

Dublin will showcase a variety of Irish speakers and performers. Atlanta’s program will illustrate a lineup of academics and health care workers speaking to the coronavirus pandemic.

Detroit poet and storyteller Omari Barksdale will speak about loss associated with the COVID-19 virus. Neuroscientist Dr. Yewande Pearse will address grief’s impact on the brain.

“Our communities here in Detroit, as well as those throughout the world, have been impacted in profound ways by the global COVID-19 pandemic,” said Devon Akmon, director of Science Gallery Detroit. “It is our hope that this digital production of Science of Grief will afford new opportunities for us to connect, reflect, and heal during an immensely challenging time.”

Science of Grief explores multiple forms of grief while featuring scientific research, poetry, art and performance. The program was created in 2018 by Science Gallery Detroit. The program responds to the idea that grief comes at different hours, for different people, and everyone deserves a listening ear.

Science Gallery Detroit is a collaborative initiative presented by Michigan State University and Science Gallery International.