As summer draws to a close, we take a moment to reflect on some of our ‘holiday highlights’ as members of the EVA Labs took their research abroad!
Palma De Mallorca, Spain
Albeit the season for a relaxing vacation in the heat, the research at the EVA Labs continued during the summer months. This, however, did not stop our researchers from dipping their feet into the sea and washing up on the shores of Mallorca. And no, this was not for the infamous Ballermann. This was in fact the location for the biennial congress of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (IAEA 2024). The theme of this year’s IAEA conference was “Present Challenges and Future Horizons”. The entourage of EVA Labs members (20 in total!) participated in the talks, poster sessions, and award ceremonies across the three-day event. We present some snapshots from our contributions…
Moderated by the M&Ms, Helmut Leder gave a talk contributing to the panel discussion on ‘The place of aesthetic experience in psychological aesthetics and neuroaesthetics’, also alongside Marcos Nadal and Anja Chatterjee. In a symposium on ‘Urban Aesthetics’, Eva Specker, Kirren Chana, Anna Lena Knoll, Tristan Barrière and Margot Dehove discussed aesthetic experiences within the urban environment from various standpoints. MacKenzie Trupp and Blanca Spee contributed to discussions of research developments and challenges in arts and health research.
Gustav Fechner Award
Baumgarten Award
We congratulate Helmut and Eva on their outstanding achievements (and can also confirm that flowers are allowed on flights!)
Talks:
- no photo: Preference for symmetry: Fechner and modern empirical aesthetics. Andreas Gartus
Posters:
everyday objects. Eduardo Naddei Grasso*, Claudia Scorolli, and Anna Borghi.
- no photo: Considering Emotional-Phenomenal Experience: a new approach to exploring the wellbeing and societal benefits of arts engagement Stephanie Miller
- no photo: Predictive coding as an approach to the empirical study of the arts? Helmut Leder* and Matthew Pelowski.
Chicago, USA
Eva Specker flew across the globe to Chicago, which (very much like Vienna) is known as ‘the Windy City’. She spent time at the University of Chicago’s Booth School supported by a Mobility Fellowship. Like any avid traveller, Eva also made sure to explore the city, visiting museums and indulging in one of her favourite pastimes – sifting through thrift stores! She shared some pieces from the university’s art collection: by Henrik Olesen, Nathanial Mary Quinn and Iiu Susiraja.
Belgrade, Serbia
The ARTIS group participated in the last consortium workshop of the project, hosted by partners at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, University of Arts in Belgrade – who are experts in cultural policy. The members of the Vienna and Berlin teams presented some final results to these partners and some invited guests from the arts scene there (curators, museum directors, etc). This involved discussions of the broader implications of the empirical work undertaken and thinking about how to build on this or develop policy recommendations – targeting both wellbeing and transformation through arts engagement.
Aachen, Germany
Against the beautiful backdrop of Aachen’s infamous gothic architecture, Akshay Mendhakar and Kirren Chana participated in the closing event of the ELIT project as part of the IGEL conference. Along with Mesian Tilmatine, they summarised the research output within their work package, and how their research findings have broader social implications too. Despite a packed schedule including mentoring workshops and panel discussions with various invited guests, they also made sure to visit some of the renowned historical sites within the city.
Prague, Czech Republic
Amidst a quest to find as many souvenirs of the cartoon The Little Mole, Jan Mikuni visited Prague where the 33rd International Congress of Psychology (ICP) was taking place. The motto of ICP2024 was “Psychology for Future: Together in Hope”. We advocate for this in making connections with other researchers internationally and paving the way for future collaborations. Takanori Sano is one such researcher who, after participating in the conference and meeting with Jan, visited our lab (and also Jan’s favourite pizza place in Vienna!)
South Korea/Japan
Meanwhile on the other side of the world, Max Kathofer and Julia Crone embarked onto what they described as ‘The Seoul of Tokyo’ as they presented the Crone lab’s research findings. They attended the 30th annual meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM; Seoul, South Korea) and the 27th annual meeting of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness (ASSC27; Tokyo, Japan).
*Julia does not merely exist as a figment of imagination; she simply took the photos and therefore isn’t in them.
Sporting a jet-setting lifestyle, Mizan Rambhoros (Marie Curie Postdoc Fellow) has traversed near and far this summer…
Barcelona, Spain
Soaking up the sun, Mizan undertook a secondment at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, exploring the interdisciplinary approach of the GeoHumanities as well as the convivial public places around the MACBA (Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona) and CCCB (Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona). She is working on the EU-funded project LIVE-LOVE, investigating loveability by comparing creative cultural spaces in Vienna and Barcelona.
Innsbruck, Austria
The ARTIS Lab presented talks at the European Conference on Positive Psychology (ECPP) 2024, taking in the built and natural landscape of Innsbruck. The theme of the conference was ‘it’s you, it’s me, it’s us’. The ARTIS team participated in two back-to-back symposia with the Humanities and Human Flourishing project, University of Pennsylvania to share explorations on the flourishing impacts of arts engagements.
Wartberg an der Krems, Austria
Mizan Rambhoros and Bence Szaszkó were invited to conduct workshops at the Scouts Summer Camp in Upper Austria by Pfadfindergruppe Wels. Within the overall theme of ‘self-care’, children wandered through their imagination, connecting with places they love, facilitated by mediation and drawing activities.
Aberdeen, Scotland
Equipped with a camera and putting her research into practise by capturing everyday beauty (including seals and otters, sadly no puffins though), Anna Lena roamed through Scottish moors (not really) on her way to the Visual Science of Art Conference (VSAC 2024), which took place at the University of Aberdeen. As well as discovering cute cafés for her morning coffee and pastry. At VSAC she was joined by Andreas Gartus, both of them presented posters.
So, what’s next?
Our next big venture will be at home in Vienna, where we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the EVA Labs from 20th-22nd September, and the summer school associated with it.
We hope to see you there!
Written by Kirren Chana on behalf of the EVA Labs team x
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