Cardiff residents will have the opportunity to see the impact art has on their brainwaves this month. The new technology, which shows brainwaves in real time and in 3D, is being brought to South Wales by Art Fund – the national charity for art – as part of a UK-wide tour.
Visitors will be able to test the technology out for themselves on June 21st and 22nd at Chapter. The tech will be available to try for free in the Gallery between 11am and 2pm on Friday 21st June and 11am and 5pm on Saturday 22nd June. It will also be the last opportunity to see Adham Faramawy: In the simmering air and the flows of the undercurrent before the show closes on 23rd June.
By illustrating the impact of art on our brains and emotions, Art Fund hopes to encourage visiting museums and galleries with a National Art Pass, which allows people to enjoy free entry to hundreds of museums, galleries and historic houses across the UK as well as 50% off major exhibitions and discounts in museum shops and cafes.
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 Cardiff, the brainwaves experience has visited museums and galleries in Bath, Guildford and Wakefield, and will also be heading to Edinburgh and Warwickshire over the summer.
Research commissioned to accompany the project found that, while 94% of adults in Wales agree that visiting museums and galleries is beneficial, nearly half (44%) of those visit less than once a year and around one in eight (13%) adults in Wales 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 Waldman, 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 Cardiff, we can inspire more people to visit the amazing museums and galleries we have on our doorsteps, such as Chapter.”
Sim Panaser, Curator at Chapter, said, “Adham Faramawy’s moving solo show focuses on the relationship between marginalised bodies and place, engaging with themes of belonging and displacement. As it features dance, video, music and paintings, it’ll be fascinating to see how this technology might capture the impact of such an embodied exhibition on our consciousness.”
For more information about the brainwaves tour, visit: www.artfund.org/brainwaves
For more information about National Art Pass, visit: www.artfund.org/national-art-pass
For more information about Chapter visit: www.chapter.org
