Enlightening Minds: Foundlings, Care and the Arts | Emma Ridgway

The first event in the Enlightening Minds lecture series of the new academic year offered a fascinating insight into the real-life history behind this year's senior production, The Coram Boy.

Emma Ridgway, Director of London’s Foundling Museum, delivered a captivating and moving talk entitled ‘Foundlings, Care and the Arts’, in which she explored stories from the archive of the Foundling Hospital. She shone a light on some of the histories of love, loss and care wrapped up in objects retained from the institution, which was established by philanthropist Thomas Coram in 1739 as the UK’s first children’s charity and its first public art gallery, dedicated to caring for babies at risk of abandonment.

Emma's talk highlighted individual stories of love and loss from the Hospital's history. Today, the Foundling Museum, located on the original site, showcases many tokens used to identify the foundling children and supports artists who advocate for social change.

The timing of this lecture was planned to coincide with the final rehearsals of The Coram Boy, which premiered in King's Collyer Hall Theatre on Wednesday 27th November. 

The talk can be accessed online.

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