LIVE EVENT
the grief gallery: objects of longing and belonging
at NYCxDESIGN 2026
For questions, speaking or media queries: Hello@CharleneLam.com
The Grief Gallery: Objects of Longing and Belonging is a series of walking tours and gatherings exploring how everyday objects shape our sense of memory, identity, and place.
This series invites participants to consider objects not only for their design and function, but for what they carry, personally, culturally, and emotionally.
At the center of this experience is The Grief Gallery®, a participatory project created by curator Charlene Lam that engages objects as not only static artifacts but active sites of meaning, holding layers of personal and collective significance.
Attendees will explore how objects move between the practical and the symbolic, and how certain items become “iconic” within different cultural and personal contexts.
Schedule:
– Friday, May 15 (2:00–3:30pm): Chinatown Walking Tour
– Saturday, May 16 (11:00am–12:30pm): Chinatown Walking Tour
– Saturday, May 16 (2:00–3:30pm): Grief, Arts & Design Gathering
Participants are welcome to join one or all events. This series is designed for designers, artists, and curious observers alike. Anyone interested in how objects function as both material and meaning, and how they shape our understanding of longing, belonging, and loss is welcome!
/// Friday, May 15 (2:00–3:30pm) — Chinatown Walking Tour
This guided walking tour explores how everyday objects carry personal, cultural, and emotional meaning. Beginning with a pop-up installation from The Grief Gallery®, we’ll move through Chinatown considering what makes certain objects “iconic,” from design classics to items rooted in cultural practice. [RSVP REQUIRED]
/// Saturday, May 16 (11:00am–12:30pm) — Chinatown Walking Tour
Join a walking tour through Chinatown, highlighting neighborhood spaces, everyday objects, and cultural iconography. Together, we’ll reflect on what we keep, what we inherit, and how objects come to occupy space in our communities, homes, and hearts. [RSVP REQUIRED]
/// Saturday, May 16 (2:00–3:30pm) — Grief, Arts & Design Gathering
This gathering is designed for members of the arts and health community, particularly those connected to the National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH), though everyone interested in the intersection of grief, arts, and design are welcome. Beginning at Mmuseumm and continuing at a nearby café, this session offers space for conversation, reflection, and connection. We’ll explore how objects can function as carriers of memory, meaning-making, and healing, using The Grief Gallery® and Mmuseumm’s creative practice as examples. [RSVP REQUIRED]
/// ONLINE OPTION: Can’t make it in-person? Join The Grief Gallery’s free monthly gathering on Wed May 27th, 2pm ET on Zoom.
WHY OBJECTS?
Meaningful Objects and Grief
The belongings and physical objects can teach us a lot about grief — and be a starting point for healing and connection.
Meet Charlene Lam
Charlene is a certified grief coach, speaker and the founder of The Grief Gallery.
She is passionate about using the lens of curating to help grieving people navigate the aftermath of loss and when they feel ready, to transform their pain into something beautiful.
After her mother died suddenly in 2013, Charlene found herself drowning in grief … and her mom’s belongings. It’s a common problem: Feeling overwhelmed and unable to make choices after the death of a loved one. Charlene’s uncommon solution: Curating an exhibition about her mother.
She developed the Curating Grief™ framework to help others process grief in a creative, accessible way. (And no, you don’t need to be an artist or creative to curate!)
As a grief coach, she helps grieving individuals to feel lighter and better equipped to move forward with their own fullest lives. She is a triple-certified grief coach, including programs by leading grief experts and clinicians Claire Bidwell Smith and Megan Devine, and ongoing training through What’s Your Grief and the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition.
As curator of The Grief Gallery™, Charlene presents international exhibitions featuring the belongings of loved ones lost, with installations at events including the London Design Festival and End Well in Los Angeles.
As a speaker, she delivers talks and workshops on the power of creativity and storytelling for healthy grieving, sharing her Curating Grief approach with thousands of grievers and wellness professionals.
She stars in the short film Curating Grief: Loss and Objects, directed by UK filmmaker Jamie Max Lee.
Her personal artwork has been showcased at the Brooklyn Museum (NY), Bildmuseet (Sweden), and the Museum of Craft and Folk Art (San Francisco). Her Curating Grief work has been featured by platforms like The Dinner Party, What’s Your Grief, Reimagine, and the Good Grief Festival, with media mentions in Azure, Dezeen, British Vogue, and Architectural Digest.
A proud Chinese-American New Yorker, Charlene is based in Lisbon, Portugal. She works with clients worldwide (and really wants you to ask her about the soy sauce in her mother’s kitchen.)
Curating Grief: A Creative Guide to Choosing What to Keep After a Loved One Dies is her first book. Learn more at www.curatinggrief.com and follow her on instagram @Curating_Grief
For questions, speaking or media queries: Hello@CharleneLam.com
For Organizations: Work With Me
Book Me To Speak
I love speaking about grief, from death-related loss to life's many transitions.
Visit my Speaker Page, book a call, or contact me at hello@charlenelam.com to learn more.
Commission an Installation of The Grief Gallery
Would you like to host or commission The Grief Gallery for your event or community?
Email me at hello@charlenelam.com
or book a call to discuss your idea.
Grief Support
Personalized Grief Support
Want personalized help with your grief? Feeling stuck? Find out more about my Sorting the Stuff of Life and Loss course and individual grief coaching packages.
Newsletter
Sign up for updates, invitations to events and grief resources.
Charlene Lam
I help grieving people to feel lighter and less burdened after losing a loved one, using the lens of curating and the tools of coaching.
Curating Grief® A creative and compassionate approach to engaging with loss.
Part of the Curating Grief® ecosystem. Visit The Grief Gallery® for community and creative witnessing. Visit CharleneLam.com for expert grief support.
hello@charlenelam.com
New York, NY | Lisbon, Portugal
hello@charlenelam.com
Copyright © 2025 Charlene Lam. Curating Grief ™ and The Grief Gallery ™. All Rights Reserved | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy