Welcome to ARISA's Monthly Newsletter!
Integrating the arts and sciences for real-world impact.
Hello folks!
We’re happy to announce that we will be sending out monthly updates on what ARISA has going on, the research we’re conducting, events we will be hosting, and fun news from the world of art, aesthetics, psychology, and neuroscience!
The Creative Lab Festival
Thank you for making The Creative Lab Festival a success! ✨
We hosted an arts & science festival at Zapurza Museum of Art & Culture on the 3rd and 4th of February, 2024.
Through The Creative Lab Festival, we aimed to create a space where people intermingle freely and curious minds of our community wander and wonder at their own pace, guided by a wealth of resources and the enthusiastic support of their fellow explorers.
It was meant to be a space where neurons dance with brush strokes!
After months of preparation and collaboration with many brilliant folks, we were happy to see such a positive response! Over a thousand people attended the fest, and we got amazing reviews and feedback from people across different ages, genders, and communities.
You have inspired us to host an even grander Fest next year and continue striving towards making the arts and sciences open, accessible, and equitable for all!
You can catch a glimpse of it below!
Arts and Cognition Confluence
Kohinoor and Sanjana attended an Arts and Cognition Confluence organized by The Curiosity Lab at IIT Gandhinagar on February 10th and 11th. The event brought together artists and scientists from India and abroad, including notable figures like Vinod Goel, Shantala Hegde, Dyutiman Mukhopadhyay, Frederick L. Coolidge, Andrea Kantrowitz and many more.
ARISA was invited to give a lecture on 'Neuroaesthetics: Exploring the Science of Arts'. The talk introduced the field of neuroaesthetics to the audience and resulted in intriguing and fruitful discussions about the pertinent questions in the field. The confluence provided an enriching experience for both the speakers and attendees, sparking philosophical discussions about the role of arts in science and the importance of adopting a scientific perspective in understanding artistic expressions.
Below are a few photos from the confluence!
Podcast: Native Narratives
Episode 2 - Unlearning Learnings: Education Reimagined
We released the second episode of our podcast on the 1st of March! Unlearning Learnings: Education Reimagined explores how our society and the traditional schooling system treat the arts as secondary to the sciences and technical fields.
You can watch it on YouTube or listen to it on Spotify!
Hardik Vaghela and Sumana Sethuraman come from an IT background but shifted to a more arts-oriented field later in life. They talk about their experiences and how they believe that the traditional schooling system needs to change to make our next generation's education more holistic.
We want to start a conversation around these topics and opinions, and we invite you to be a part of it too! Let us know what you think about this episode, and follow our socials for similar conversations around the arts and sciences! :)
Below is a sneak peek into the podcast! :)
Blog: Aesthetic Alchemy
We released two blogs in February! Through our blog, we aim to explore the intricate connections between art, beauty, and the human brain and mind.
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we released a special blog called - Crazy Little Thing Called Love.
Love is a complex cocktail of neurotransmitters and hormones, which can be compared to a complicated chemistry experiment. These include dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, which work together to throw the ultimate Valentine's Day party in your brain.
So, here's to love – in all its messy, complicated, and beautiful glory.
You can read the full blog on our website!
Driven To Move
Our latest blog is called Driven To Move, and as the name suggests, it is about what compels us to move!
Since birth, movement is ingrained in our biology. Movement is essential for our physical well-being, and as we age, this necessity for movement doesn't decline but changes. Whether it's playing as a child or taking brisk walks in our senior years, our bodies yearn for physical activity.
You can read the full blog on our website!
Research
If you’d like to participate in the research that we’re conducting in collaboration with Zapurza Museum of Art and Culture, Pune this week on the 8th and 9th of March, you can fill out this form and find the details below! We conduct this research once or twice every week; stay tuned to our socials to know when we’re heading to Zapurza!
Course: The Science of Engaging With The Arts
We will be rolling out a course on how arts and aesthetics impact the body and the mind soon! We would like you to fill out this form if you’re interested in knowing more about and participating in the course!
Thank you for supporting ARISA Foundation! We are a not-for-profit research and social work organisation that bridges the arts and sciences to advance academic research in psychology, neuroscience, and neuroaesthetics, preserve tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and promote social change.
With a focus on interdisciplinary approaches, science communication, and community engagement, we aim to make the sciences and arts open, equitable, and accessible to all.
Contact us (info@arisafoundation.org) if you would like to know more about the work we do, or collaborate, work, or volunteer with us!