NEW cutting-edge technology which visualises how the human brain reacts to art is coming to Compton Verney.
It shows brainwaves in real time and in 3D and is being brought to the art gallery by Art Fund – the national charity for art – as part of a UK-wide tour.
The tech will be available for visitors to try in the Naples Collection between 10.30am and 1pm on Friday (July 19) and 10.30am and 5pm on Saturday (July 20).
By illustrating the impact of art on our brains and emotions, Art Fund hopes to encourage more people to visit museums and galleries.
The project highlights how people’s brains are stimulated when they experience art in museums and galleries, and aims to help answer the question of the fundamental value of art and the impact it has on us.
Visitors of all ages are invited to take part by viewing art or artefacts while wearing a headset that is connected to an electroencephalogram (EEG) monitor. The outputs of their brainwaves as they react to the art are then visualised on-screen in 3D and real-time.
Aside from Warwickshire, the brainwaves experience has visited museums and galleries in Bath, Cardiff, Guildford, and Wakefield throughout the spring and summer and will be visiting Edinburgh at the end of July.
Research commissioned to accompany the project found that while 94 per cent of adults in the West Midlands agree that visiting museums and galleries is beneficial, nearly four in ten of those visit less than once a year and around one in eight adults in the region believe that art has no impact on them.
However, the technology allows users to see the clear and immediate effect art can have on the human brain.
Art Fund director Jenny Waldma, said: “This technology shows how art can improve our wellbeing and emotions. Audiences love seeing the visualisation of their brainwaves when they look at different paintings and objects in museums, so we are thrilled to take this technology on tour. We hope that by bringing the experience to Warwickshire, we can inspire more people to visit the amazing museums and galleries we have on our doorsteps, such as Compton Verney.”
For more information about the brainwaves tour visit www.artfund.org/brainwaves
