Tom Mustill: How to Speak Whale (Grand Central Publishing). Kalle Hamm, photo: Jyri Pitkänen.
Tom Mustill and How to Speak Whale
Welcome to this reading circle to discuss Tom Mustill’sHow to Speak Whale. We will meet at 17:30–19:00 on Thursday, 18 January in the Observatory’s East Rotunda (Kopernikuksentie 1) to discuss this book, which is an exploration of the world of whales and language, led by visual artist Kalle Hamm.
“How to Speak Whale examines how scientists and start-ups around the world are decoding animal communications. Whales, with their giant mammalian brains, virtuoso voices, and long, highly social lives, offer one of the most realistic opportunities for this to happen. But what would the consequences of such human animal interaction be?” (Grand Central Publishing)
Tom Mustill is a biologist, internationally awarded documentary film director and writer, whose work focuses especially on stories about encounters between humans and animals. Those he has worked with include David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg.
Kalle Hamm is a visual artist from Helsinki who graduated from Lahti Fine Art Institute and the University of Art and Design. Hamm has dealt with the relationship between humans and plants in his works. In them, plants are active agents that interact with their environment. Hamm is also one of the founding members of the Band of Weeds sound collective.
Kalle recommends reading How to Speak Whale because it is an excellent dive into the communication of animals, especially whales:
“The book questions the human-centred understanding of nature and opens up dizzying perspectives on the life of whales, those giants of the seas. At the same time, the book presents the latest research methods in the field and what they can potentially achieve in the near future.”
The reading group will meet in the Observatory’s East Rotunda (Kopernikuksentie 1) at 17:30–19:00 on Thursday, 18 January 2024. The reading circle can have a maximum of eight people and participants should read How to Speak Whale before attending. The discussion will be in Finnish. There will be catering at the event.
You can register for the reading circle by sending an email with the title “Reading circle registration: How to Speak Whale” to: saara.moisio@ihmehelsinki.fi.
Please let us know any special dietary requirements so we can arrange catering, and if you have any special needs that we should consider. Registration for the reading circle is open until the reading circle is full.
The Observatory is at the southern end of Unioninkatu at Kopernikuksentie 1. The nearest tram stops are number 10 Johanneksen kirkko and number 2 Eteläranta. We recommend arriving by public transport, on foot or by bike.
The accessible entrance to the observatory is through the red garden gate on the west side of the building. The gate can be opened by calling 050 318 57 64 or from the intercom to number A1. The gate gives access to the Observatory’s rental premises, the Argelander Hall and the East Rotunda, as well as the exhibition spaces. Unfortunately, there is no barrier-free access to the towers and planetarium.
We follow safer space guidelines in our events. We do not accept racism, discrimination based on gender, sexuality or any other characteristic or trait. Come as you are, without assumptions about others.
IHME Helsinki has been awarded the EcoCompass certificate. We are committed to saving our planet’s natural resources. All the food served in IHME Helsinki events is vegan and made from domestic products when possible. We are constantly looking for new ways to produce our commissions and events with as few emissions as possible.
