Art and science are often considered to be in opposition to each other; the subjective vs the objective, fact vs fiction. However, as we learn more about how the brain functions and begin to harness creative output to maximise its effect on the mind, new advances in both disciplines are bringing the two closer than ever before.

In this panel discussion, theVOV brings together psychologist and neuroscientist Daphna Shohamy and Vesna Petresin, transdisciplinary artist and thinker, to discuss the connection between art and the brain, touching on the role of narrative, construction, and memory in the creative process.

Speakers:

Dr. Daphna Shohamy is a Professor of Psychology at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Mind, Brain, Behavior Institute and Co-Director of Columbia University’s Kavli Center for Brain Science. Shohamy’s lab investigates the neural mechanisms of learning, memory, and decision making in humans with an emphasis on how these processes interact.

Dr Vesna Petresin, BSc PhD FRSA (born in Ljubljana, works and lives in Berlin and London) is a transdisciplinary artist and thinker. She has a practice as a time-architect, composing and performing with sound, light, rhythm, space, movement, text and code.