Midsummer Celebration: Arts & the Mind

The arts and sciences are brought together in Midsummer Celebration: Arts & the Mind - an evening of events dedicated to exploring the mystery of the creative mind. Poetry, sculpture, painting, music and dance will be presented and analysed by a team of leading neuroscientists, offering audiences a rare opportunity to look into the minds of artists, performers and musicians.

The arts and sciences are brought together in Midsummer Celebration: Arts & the Mind - an evening of events dedicated to exploring the mystery of the creative mind at the Science Museum’s Dana Centre on Thursday 24 June.

What can the latest developments in brain research tell us about creativity? Why do some people enjoy dance and not others? What does creativity mean? Poetry, sculpture, painting, music and dance will be presented and analysed by a team of leading neuroscientists, offering audiences a rare opportunity to look into the minds of artists, performers and musicians.

Midsummer Celebration: Arts & the Mind includes a live contemporary dance which will be broken down to reveal how movement stimulates the brain; the story of a former builder who since suffering a stroke has become a prolific artist, and an exploration into how the brain processes music through the interpretation of a jazz and classical recital. Finally, visitors will be able to express their own opinions and queries in a debate on creativity with a panel of artists, musicians and scientists.

Speakers include Professor Margaret Boden, University of Sussex, Dr Mark Lythgoe, Institute of Child Health and Tony Gilland from the Institute of Ideas. Midsummer Celebration: Arts & the Mind is a joint event with the BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science), the European Dana Alliance for the Brain (EDAB) and the Science Museum.

THE EMOTION OF DANCE
d.studio: 19.00 – 19.30
A dancer's passion is expressed through movement. But how does dance stir our emotions and senses? How does the brain interpret the 'vocabulary' of dance? Why do some people get pleasure from watching dance and not others? Neuroscientist Dr Sarah-Jayne Blakemore analyses the performance of dancers - choreographed by Laban dance specialists, Henrietta Bannerman and Susan Sentler - to investigate how unpredictable movement stimulates the brain's activities.

ART & THE ALTERED MIND
d.study: 19.45 – 20.15
Since suffering a stoke in 2001 former builder Tommy McHugh has felt an insatiable need to create, from painting and drawing to writing and sculpting. The dramatic change to McHugh’s character and his newfound creativity is investigated by leading neurophysiologist Dr Mark Lythgoe, who will be using a series of interactive experiments to explore the mind of Tommy.

WHAT IS CREATIVITY?
(d.studio: 19.45 - 20.15 )
Renowned author of The Creative Mind and Research Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of Sussex, Margaret Boden, uses the humanities, science and technology to explain the enigma of creativity, how science and arts are different and how we come up with creative ideas.

WHAT DRIVES ARTISTIC CREATIVITY
(Panel Discussion d.studio: 20.30 – 21.30)
Can scientific monitoring of brain activity really illuminate our understanding of artistic processes? Does genius reside in the brain or is it a more complex social phenomenon? Is there a danger of biological based explanations of creativity squeezing out an appreciation of social factors, schooling and raw talent? What are the implications of new theories of creativity for the teaching of the arts?

Join facilitator Tony Gilland from the Institute of Ideas to answer these questions and more. Panellists include:
· Janet Eilber, dancer and principal arts consultant to the Dana Foundation
· Piers Hellawell, composer and Professor of Composition, The Queen's University of Belfast
· Joe Kaplinsky, science writer
· Mark Lythgoe, neurophysiologist, Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital

NEW LONDON ORCHESTRA
d.cafe: ALL EVENING - 4 × 15 minute sessions
The New London Orchestra brings together two professional musicians and a top neuroscientist to explore the creative mind of the performer. Following a short jazz improvisation and a classical piece from each musician, the neuroscientist will lead an open discussion with the audience to reveal the creative processes at work during a concert.

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