Empathy Museum is a series of

art installation Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...

s, begun in 2015. Its purpose is to help visitors view the world through the perspectives of others, using participatory storytelling and dialogue. The project states it can help people approach global issues such as prejudice, conflict and inequality by expressing empathy to change relationships. A weekly

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

, ''A Mile in My Shoes'', was started in 2018.

Background and description

The project was founded by

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

Roman Krznaric Roman Krznaric is an Australian-born public philosopher, whose books have focused on the power of ideas to change society and have been published in over 20 languages. He was named by ''The Observer'' as one of Britain’s leading popular philoso ...

and is directed by

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

br>Clare Patey
In May 2018, Empathy Museum began a weekly podcast titled ''A Mile in My Shoes''. The podcast shares stories of the lives of various people around the world. Empathy Museum does not have a permanent location. Its projects are each designed as temporary installations that travel to international locations. Empathy Museum's offices are based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Projects

''A Thousand and One Books''

''A Thousand and One Books'' is a

crowd-sourced Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digita ...

collection of 1001 books. Each book in the "library" has been donated by "someone who loves that book and thinks that other people might love it too". Notable book donors include

Jay Rayner Jason Matthew Rayner (born 14 September 1966) is an English journalist and food critic. Early life Jason Matthew Rayner was born on 14 September 1966. He is the younger son of Desmond Rayner and journalist Claire Rayner. His family is Jewish. He ...

Kate Raworth Kate Raworth (born 13 December 1970) is an English economist known for " doughnut economics", which she understands as an economic model that balances between essential human needs and planetary boundaries. She is Senior Associate at Oxford Unive ...

Lemn Sissay Lemn Sissay FRSL (born 21 May 1967) is a British author and broadcaster. Sissay was the official poet of the 2012 London Olympics, has been chancellor of the University of Manchester since 2015, and joined the Foundling Museum's board of trus ...

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...

Chris O'Dowd Christopher O'Dowd (born 9 October 1979) is an Irish actor and comedian. He received wide attention as Roy Trenneman, one of the lead characters in the Channel 4 comedy '' The IT Crowd'', which ran for four series between 2006 and 2010. He has ...

and

Suzanne Moore Suzanne Lynn Moore (born 17 July 1958) is an English journalist. Early life and education Moore is the daughter of an American father and a working-class British mother, who split up during her childhood. As a child, she was told that her mo ...

. The books can be taken out by the public and then passed on to other people, instead of being returned. ''A Thousand and One Books'' has been presented at

London International Festival of Theatre The London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT) is a biennial festival of theatre, performance and cultural events. The organisation also supports year-round activity in London. The organisation was founded by Rose Fenton and Lucy Neal, ...

in 2016, and at the Krasnoyarsk Book Culture Fair in 2016.

''Human Library''

''Human Library'' is "like any other library but instead of borrowing a book you can borrow a person for conversation". The library presents a selection of "Living Books": people who tell a story about their life and discuss it with a member of the public visiting the installation. Each Human Library is centred around a different theme including fashion, food, home and age. ''Human Library'' has been presented in

SOAS SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

(2015),

Whitechapel Gallery The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the fir ...

(2015), the

(2016), and in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, at the

Perth Writers Festival Perth Festival, named Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF) between 2000 and 2017, and sometimes referred to as the Festival of Perth, is Australia's longest-running cultural festival, held annually in Western Australia. The program features ...

(2016).

''A Mile in My Shoes''

''A Mile in My Shoes'' is a travelling "shoe shop" with over 350 pairs of shoes and audio stories collected by Empathy Museum. Visitors are invited to walk a mile in someone else's shoes by temporarily exchanging their footwear for a pair in the museum's collection. While walking, visitors listen to a story about the shoe owner's life through a pair of headphones. At each location it travels to, the museum collects stories and shoes from local people. Sometimes iterations of the project centre around certain themes. These include collections of stories from migrants in England (in collaboration with London's Migration Museum, 2018), from UK health and social care workers (commissioned by the Health Foundation, 2018), from people who came to the UK as refugees (in collaboration with

Choose Love ''Choose Love'' is the 14th studio album by Ringo Starr, released in 2005. Background and recording Recorded throughout 2004 into 2005, using the same team that created ''Vertical Man'' (1998) and ''Ringo Rama'' (2003), Starr produced the set wi ...

, 2019), from young people in Scotland (in collaboration with National Theatre Scotland, 2019), and stories with a connection to water (in collaboration with Arts Centre Melbourne 2020). Stories have been collected in various languages, including English,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, Italian,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, Latvian,

Slovenian Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Sloven ...

, Dutch, and Portuguese. ''A Mile in My Shoes'' has been presented across England and internationally, including in Belgium (2017),

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

(2017, 2019), Ireland (2017), Brazil (2017), Scotland (2018), the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

(2018),

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

(2020), Slovenia (2020), Italy (2021), Germany (2021), and Romania (2021).

''From Where I'm Standing''

''From Where I'm Standing'' is a portrait of life in London in 2020, through photography and audio stories installed outdoors. The project celebrates 34 extraordinary people, ranging from a midwife and a supermarket worker to an undertaker and an anaesthetist. It has been displayed in London at Sceaux Gardens Estate, Peckham and Dalberg Road, Brixton. References{{reflist Museums in England 2018 podcast debuts Audio podcasts Works based on podcasts