Whether or not you like looking at preserved animal corpses–be they recreations of the family cat, a small mammal that was never meant to have antlers or the more traditional mounted moose head on the wall–you can admit it’s sometimes hard to look away. The Taxidermy Open, now in its fourth year at the Walters Art Museum, beckons you to embrace that strange fascination with all things dead and stuffed.
The competition, put on by the museum and Hampden oddities shop Bazaar, has four categories for entrants from all over the region: professional, up-and-coming, collector and mixed media. There’s also best in show–last year’s winner was a goatskin purse.
There’s “some kind of a fantasy element” to the world of “rogue taxidermy,” Bazaar owner Greg Hatem told WYPR last month. “It could be an animal posed to be like a human…or any animal composed of many kinds of specimens.”
Those looking for something that’s both engaging and creepy will enjoy other programming, like a “two headed chick mounting demo” with New York taxidermy artist Divya Anantharaman or a talk, “The Market for Stuffed Dragons in 1600,” with the museum’s curator of Renaissance and Baroque art, Joaneath Spicer.
The competition winners will be announced at 7:15 p.m. Union Craft Brewing will be serving beer (cash bar) throughout.
5:30-8:30 p.m., Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St., (410) 547-9000, thewalters.org/event/taxidermy-open-4, free.
