Can you tell a fake from the real thing? Join Oxford University researcher Patricia Kingori for a celebration of hoaxes, forgeries and fakes, where nothing is as it seems.
Professor Kingori’s research explores different kinds of fakes. Fake animals, relics and paintings in museums seem harmless, but deepfake videos, fake medicines and misinformation have real consequences in the modern world – as we see in the news every day.
“Fakes are often dismissed as rubbish. But in a world where it’s increasingly hard to tell what’s real, they can help to understand what we value and raise other important questions - such as who gets to say that something is real or fake? Why?”
Created with TORCH, April Fakes Day takes place at the following locations – full details are available on the TORCH website.
- Oxford University Botanic Gardens, 1 April 2024, Did you know that pasta grows on trees?
- Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Monday 1 – Saturday 6 April, How do you know what you’re looking at?
- The Ashmolean, Ongoing, Learn how to tell if something is a 'real' fake.
- The Story Museum, Friday 29 March, Saturday 20 March & Monday 1 April, Stories of tricksters and shapeshifters
- The History of Science Museum, From Tuesday 2 April, Can you spot the fake medicines hidden among the real ones? How can you tell if information on medicine is real?
- The Bodleian, Monday 1 April, Find a case of fake books, documents and art in the Weston Library
- Uncomfortable Oxford, Monday 1 April, Learn about the intriguing story of how a replica of the Zimbabwe Bird found its place atop Rhodes' House.
- Pitt Rivers Museum, Tuesday 2 April, 2 - 4.30pm, Fake ivory: how and why it's made.
- Ultimate Picture Palace, Wednesday 3 April, Special screening of Orson Welles' film F For Fake
- Natural History Museum, Monday 1 April, Have you ever heard of a ‘Jenny Haniver’?
- The British Museum, Monday 1 April, What is “real gold”, and how do we authenticate it?
- Culture&, Monday 1 April, Read about a subversive fake: the first 3D printed replica of the bust of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti
Part of Fakes, fabrications and falsehoods in global health.