University Collections at McCalla, in collaboration with the Weird Studies podcast and the IU Center for Possible Minds, will celebrate the opening of its new exhibition Séance on Tuesday, January 27th, 4:30 pm-6:30 pm EST. The exhibit features the photography of artist Shannon Taggart, whose work explores the connections between Spiritualism, art, science, and celebrity. The photographs provide a unique insider’s view of communities that delve into the realms of mysticism and the supernatural. Taggart will be present at the opening to discuss the process and inspiration behind her works.
Shannon Taggart is a photographer and independent researcher based in St. Paul, MN. Her work has been widely exhibited, including at the Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles, the Photographic Resource Center in Boston, the Robert Mann Gallery in New York, and the Gallery of Everything in London. Her book, Séance, was named one of TIME Magazine’s ‘Best Photobooks of 2019’ and has been featured by CNN, Bookforum, The New York Times, the London Financial Times, Le Monde, The Washington Post, and The Paris Review, among others. Currently, she is working on an illustrated book on one of the strangest cases in the history of parapsychology, the Society for Research on Rapport and Telekinesis (SORRAT).
The exhibition is free and runs from January 27 to April 1.
The exhibition is part of a multi-day program, sponsored by Weird Studies and the Center for Possible Minds, that includes a screening of Ken Russell’s cult classic film Altered States (1980), followed by a Weird Studies live episode recorded at IU Cinema (Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 7pm), and a Weird Academia panel discussion, which brings together thinkers from within and beyond academia who challenge the boundaries of conventional thinking (Thursday, January 29, 2026, 7pm at the Buskirk Chumley Theater).
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4:30pm - 6:30pm