![\"Wunderkammer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/suarfotos-79877-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a>Wunderkammer is an annual taxidermy showcase in Brooklyn. Photo by Luis Suar<\/p>\nBuilding a community around taxidermy means taking on nuanced conversations about death and the cultural significance of taxidermy. \u201c\u200b\u200bSomething unique about Wunderkammer is that it recontextualizes taxidermy as this larger art form that not only deals with death but deals with the body and animals, these ideas of conservation and environmental stewardship and identity,\u201d said Anantharaman. \u201cIt puts it in this much broader perspective as opposed to a rustic deer on a plaque or something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wunderkammer has become an annual event that takes place around October each year in Brooklyn. Contrary to most taxidermy competitions and conventions, the event features performance art such as drag and burlesque along with showcases that highlight outside-the-box, fantastical approaches to taxidermy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was seeing so much talent among my peers. I was like, we\u2019re missing out by not giving these folks a platform,\u201d said Anantharaman. \u201cI really wanted this show to be something that brings people up and shines a positive light on parts of this already overlooked field. Taxidermy itself is already very niche, and fantasy work is even more niche among that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooklyn Taxidermy originated in Greenpoint but has since expanded to Sugar Loaf, NY. Brooklyn Taxidermy offers high-end taxidermy services and workshops, which evolved from Maykut\u2019s passion to push the boundaries of what she could do with the art form.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTaxidermy is interesting to me because it\u2019s art, but it\u2019s science. It\u2019s sculpture, but it\u2019s anatomy. It\u2019s dark, but it\u2019s light. It\u2019s morbid, but it\u2019s cute. It\u2019s dead, but it looks alive,\u201d Maykut said. \u201cIt\u2019s very loaded and provocative. It provokes feeling in you because it\u2019s complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n Maykut is also involved with the Oddities Flea Market in Manhattan, where taxidermy artists sell their work and offer demonstrations. At the annual event held at Metropolitan Pavilion, one can find exhibitions such as \u201cThe Bone Museum,\u201d where taxidermists display preserved bones left from their projects, as well as displayable creations and gifts.<\/p>\n Food offerings are also on theme: Solid Wiggles offers Jell-O shots with faux eyeballs preserved between layers of translucent, blood-red gelatin. Along with taxidermy, mystical activities include oracle readings, custom microscopic photography of visitors\u2019 irises and flash tattoos. The event takes place each December in New York City and has expanded to other cities as well.<\/p>\n In October, Gotham Taxidermy collaborated with New York City-based jewelry brand Kil NYC to produce a line of wearable artifacts. The collaboration was celebrated with a launch party at Thea Grant in DUMBO.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been longtime friends and colleagues and both have bought each other\u2019s work,\u201d Anantharaman said of working with Kil NYC. \u201cThe collaboration came from a mutual interest in animals, art and making wearable art that embodies glamour, mortality and fine craftsmanship.\u201d<\/p>\n The success of the collaboration is a testament to taxidermy\u2019s trendiness in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n Maykut has received international recognition for her work and hopes to preserve the tradition by sharing her knowledge with aspiring taxidermists. Maykut regularly hosts workshops centered around specific projects such as rodents, foxes or butterflies, with an average capacity of six.\u00a0<\/p>\n The classes are not so different from other art events. At one of Maykut\u2019s beginner workshops, a group of first-time taxidermy students gathered in Greenpoint to learn the basics of taxidermying rodents. Maykut provided a few bottles of wine, and the students bantered and provided feedback on each other\u2019s projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n Masha and Monica chose to taxidermy chipmunks, giggling as they made the inanimate creatures kiss as the glue dried.<\/p>\n<\/a>Wunderkammer is an annual taxidermy showcase in Brooklyn. Photo by Luis Suar<\/p>\n<\/a>Wunderkammer 2025, organized by Divya Anantharaman of Gotham Taxidermy. Photo by Timothy Caraballo<\/p>\n<\/a>Wunderkammer is an annual taxidermy showcase in Brooklyn. Photo by Luis Suar<\/p>\n<\/a>Wunderkammer is an annual taxidermy showcase in Brooklyn. Photo by Luis SuarPassing on the taxidermy torch<\/p>\n