Experience: How do the arts affect us?

This research strand focuses on the thoughts, feelings and actions which cultural expressions trigger in their users.

What sensory perceptions and emotional responses do the formal and material features of cultural expressions produce? How do social contexts influence the way we experience art? For example, a museum exhibition and a theatre performance invite different forms of engagement. And how can experiencing the arts – reading a poem, seeing a film – transform people, encouraging them to understand the world in new ways? Key themes within this strand include the multisensory experiences in the arts; arts and religious experience; and user experiences in digital media, including video games.