Tedi Asher will apply neuroscience research findings to enhance the visitor experience at the Peabody Essex Museum / PHOTOS: Courtesy OF Peabody Essex Museum
When a visitor walks into an art gallery, they expect to see paintings hanging alongside one another on every wall, and the rooms categorised by era or movement or artist.
Sometimes, galleries adopt different methods – displaying a single artwork in a room on its own or making use of flexible design techniques that enable them to rearrange the layout of the space.
Experts now believe displaying many works side-by-side and top-to-tail on a gallery wall is not the best way for the visitor to appreciate the art. It makes sense – doesn’t it? – that seeing maybe one hundred works in a room altogether might overwhelm the visitor’s brain?
At Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), in Salem, Massachusetts, Dr Tedi Asher has joined the team to advise on exactly this conundrum – what is, neurologically speaking, the best gallery experience?
Asher takes the role of neuroscience researcher, part of a PEM neuroscience initiative made possible through $130,000 (£100,000, €110,000) funding from the Barr Foundation, a Boston-based private institute that works to “elevate the arts and creative expression”. PEM’s neuroscience initiative aims to find strategies to display art in a way that complements the way the brain functions.
“PEM’s cross-disciplinary approach is exciting and comes at a time when neuroscience findings are beginning to be more widely embraced outside of the scientific community,” says Asher.
Applying the latest neuroscientific research and neuroaesthetic theory to enhance visitor experiences across the museum’s permanent collection, Asher will document her work and work with PEM to write and publish her findings, which will be shared with art museums worldwide.
“We’re all familiar with the idea that a satisfying experience has this delicate balance of meeting and violating our expectations,” the Harvard-educated Asher, who has a special interest in neuroscience and psychology, told Artsy magazine. “In the context of exhibition design, how can we surprise people in a way that won’t be jarring, but will help viewers make sense of what they have seen? Something that is unexpected takes longer to detect – but it also makes a more lasting imprint.”
Museum head Dan Monroe has been introducing neuroscience to PEM over the past couple of years, experimenting with less cluttered exhibition spaces, more manageable and engaging descriptions for the art and some multi-sensory elements. The appointment of Asher will help him take this work to previously unexplored levels.
“We’re excited to be the first art museum to employ a full-time neuroscientist to help develop new ways of designing experiences that are highly meaningful and relevant to visitors,” says Monroe. “Dr Asher’s unique perspective and deep insight will make the process of art exploration and discovery especially rewarding, stimulating and fun.
“We believe there are new ways to present and interpret art that will enliven and enrich the art and art museum experience. We also believe the collaboration may benefit the art museum community at large,” Monroe says.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2017 issue 4
Interview: Jane Cooper
We talked to Jane Cooper, COO
and president of Herschend Family
Entertainment, about the company
portfolio and all things Dollywood
Tedi Asher will apply neuroscience research findings to enhance the visitor experience at the Peabody Essex Museum / PHOTOS: Courtesy OF Peabody Essex Museum
Peabody Essex Museum head Dan Monroe; / PHOTOS: Courtesy OF Peabody Essex Museum
In Rodin: Transforming Sculpture, dancers encourage visitors to think about art in new ways / PHOTOS: Courtesy OF Peabody Essex Museum
The Asia in Amsterdam exhibit uses jars filled with spices to elicit multi-sensory reactions in guests / PHOTOS: Courtesy OF Peabody
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Tedi Asher will apply neuroscience research findings to enhance the visitor experience at the Peabody Essex Museum / PHOTOS: Courtesy OF Peabody Essex Museum
When a visitor walks into an art gallery, they expect to see paintings hanging alongside one another on every wall, and the rooms categorised by era or movement or artist.
Sometimes, galleries adopt different methods – displaying a single artwork in a room on its own or making use of flexible design techniques that enable them to rearrange the layout of the space.
Experts now believe displaying many works side-by-side and top-to-tail on a gallery wall is not the best way for the visitor to appreciate the art. It makes sense – doesn’t it? – that seeing maybe one hundred works in a room altogether might overwhelm the visitor’s brain?
At Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), in Salem, Massachusetts, Dr Tedi Asher has joined the team to advise on exactly this conundrum – what is, neurologically speaking, the best gallery experience?
Asher takes the role of neuroscience researcher, part of a PEM neuroscience initiative made possible through $130,000 (£100,000, €110,000) funding from the Barr Foundation, a Boston-based private institute that works to “elevate the arts and creative expression”. PEM’s neuroscience initiative aims to find strategies to display art in a way that complements the way the brain functions.
“PEM’s cross-disciplinary approach is exciting and comes at a time when neuroscience findings are beginning to be more widely embraced outside of the scientific community,” says Asher.
Applying the latest neuroscientific research and neuroaesthetic theory to enhance visitor experiences across the museum’s permanent collection, Asher will document her work and work with PEM to write and publish her findings, which will be shared with art museums worldwide.
“We’re all familiar with the idea that a satisfying experience has this delicate balance of meeting and violating our expectations,” the Harvard-educated Asher, who has a special interest in neuroscience and psychology, told Artsy magazine. “In the context of exhibition design, how can we surprise people in a way that won’t be jarring, but will help viewers make sense of what they have seen? Something that is unexpected takes longer to detect – but it also makes a more lasting imprint.”
Museum head Dan Monroe has been introducing neuroscience to PEM over the past couple of years, experimenting with less cluttered exhibition spaces, more manageable and engaging descriptions for the art and some multi-sensory elements. The appointment of Asher will help him take this work to previously unexplored levels.
“We’re excited to be the first art museum to employ a full-time neuroscientist to help develop new ways of designing experiences that are highly meaningful and relevant to visitors,” says Monroe. “Dr Asher’s unique perspective and deep insight will make the process of art exploration and discovery especially rewarding, stimulating and fun.
“We believe there are new ways to present and interpret art that will enliven and enrich the art and art museum experience. We also believe the collaboration may benefit the art museum community at large,” Monroe says.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2017 issue 4
Interview: Jane Cooper
We talked to Jane Cooper, COO
and president of Herschend Family
Entertainment, about the company
portfolio and all things Dollywood
Tedi Asher will apply neuroscience research findings to enhance the visitor experience at the Peabody Essex Museum / PHOTOS: Courtesy OF Peabody Essex Museum
Peabody Essex Museum head Dan Monroe; / PHOTOS: Courtesy OF Peabody Essex Museum
In Rodin: Transforming Sculpture, dancers encourage visitors to think about art in new ways / PHOTOS: Courtesy OF Peabody Essex Museum
The Asia in Amsterdam exhibit uses jars filled with spices to elicit multi-sensory reactions in guests / PHOTOS: Courtesy OF Peabody
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
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Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’
planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–
Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism inv
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-
Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional
revenue opportunities.
The UK government has announced a temporary reduction in VAT on visitor attractions and
children’s meals as part of a summer cost-of-living support package designed to stimulate the
visitor economy and encourage family days out.
As designer Yinka Ilori prepares for his first solo gallery show in London, he speaks exclusively
to CLADmag about his mission to spread joy, the power of play, and his bold approach to using
colour (including the colours you won’t see in his work).
The government of Thailand is exploring plans for a THB300bn (£6.3bn, US$8.3bn)
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Royal Caribbean has revealed its Hero of the Seas cruise ship, home to the most pools at sea
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An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
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