Arts and the Mind

How do we think about art? How do we decide that something is art or isn't? Why do we treat artworks as special? Why we appreciate some artworks more than others? In this participatory talk/demonstration, interdisciplinary researcher Dr Freya Vass-Rhee uses arts-sciences experiments to offer answers to these and other questions, and also show how researchers use finding about “your brain on the arts” to enhance wellbeing.

Has music ever made you feel great and you’re not sure why? Have you noticed your heart pumping faster, your feet moving quicker and your skin rising in Goosebumps? People find music emotive, yet this powerful influence of music has not been harnessed…until now. Can dance music and its ability to evoke strong positive emotions aid depression, a disorder that continues to rise? With the use of several new technologies to measure brain activity and an App to distribute the power of music to a wide range of individuals, we hope to develop an effective way of reducing depression in the population.