The factors that determine attendance at museums and historic sites across Europe

.Cultural policies have some impact but cannot overcome inequality in human capitalThe difference between attendance levels in general across the different countries can be partly attributed to cultural policy factors. The highest attendance levels are in countries which tend to opt for free admission and lowest where admission fees are the norm.  But there were unequal levels of attendance across social groups in all countries. Education was the most important of all the factors to increase the likelihood of visiting museums and historic sites, meaning that “human capital is more important than economic capital” in this regard.
By | 22 November 2018 |

The impact of dance and music training on our brains

This research was conducted by Chiara Giacosa and four others at the Université de Montréal, Canada.
Summary
Dance and music are universal forms of human expression that have common and distinct features. Dance engages the whole body and requires the integration of visual, auditory and motor information. Music engages specific parts of the body (typically hands and fingers) and primarily requires the integration of auditory and motor information. Do they impact our brains in a similar manner
By | 19 March 2018 |

Thinking about cultural engagement in terms of capabilities and ecologies

website, nested within BBC Arts, in which people could share examples of their creative activities and outputs. [And] several hundred Get Creative Champions – organisations or individuals who put on Get Creative events’). The paper proposes that policymakers and researchers begin to approach the business of cultural policy by asking how human flourishing can be supported by giving people the means and opportunities to make art or music, to express themselves and learn for themselves (rather than

Understanding how movement synchrony shapes infants’ choices

This research was conducted by Bahar Tunçgenç, Emma Cohen and Christine Fawcett at the University of Oxford, UK and Uppsala University, Sweden
Summary
Although coordinated movements enable early social interactions, little is known about the effect of movement synchrony throughout human development. This paper reports on a study of infants’ preferences for synchronous stimuli in a social and non-social context. It found that children at 12 months of age (though not at nine months) expressed a
By | 16 February 2017 |

The emotional power of poetry and its impact on our brains

goosebumps to understand our emotions
Recited poetry is the most ancient record of human literature, however there has been very little research on the emotional experiences it can trigger. In this study, recordings of a set of poems where played and participants reported when they felt chills by pushing a button. Also, a “goose-cam” was used to capture videos of the skin surface to evaluate the generation and duration of goosebumps. They also evaluated heart rate and activity of facial muscles
By | 1 February 2018 |

Understanding arts engagement in Chinese cities

participation in karaoke or reading e-books.In general there are two types of cultural offers for people in ChinaOne half of the offer is state-funded and state-run TV, radio, public libraries, state-owned museums, art galleries and cultural centers. The other half includes private and commercial publishing, some performing arts, music, film, video and photography, broadcasting, visual arts and crafts, advertising, design and fashion, interactive media and online content and games.There are many

Corporate sponsorship is about more than just marketing

or customers. The author is keen to emphasise other benefits to the running of the businesses: particularly in supporting innovation, product research and finding new markets.
The paper looked specifically at Italian corporations but the applications are international
Sponsorship of the arts can lead to real improvements in business performance, the paper refers to Illy Caffe and their use of artists and architects to inform their product design. Illy also opened a gallery space in New York for a
By | 11 April 2014 |

Theatre-going as a type of 'rational addiction'

strategies to support theatre attendance that better understand the models that underpin behaviour. For example, if theatre-goers are fully rational (as this paper suggests), government could influence theatre attendance by different policy tools, such as ticket prices, and so reduce or increase the level of public expenditure, but all efforts need to be based on an understanding of the 'rational addiction' model of human behaviour.
This summary is by Barbara Bravi, King’s Knowledge Exchange Associate
By | 2 June 2016 |

Dance as a form of emotion-sensitivity training

research examined how expertise in dance influences responses to emotive movements, and showed that experienced dancers exhibited stronger sensitivity to the emotions embodied in human movement.
Experienced dancers are more sensitive to emotions expressed by others
Two groups of young women – one group of undergraduate students untrained in dance, and the other group professional ballet dancers (or those in training) – watched a range of five-second clips of ballet movements depicting
By | 30 January 2017 |

The Social Return on Investment from a public art project

achieved through ‘pulsating lights that mimicked the rhythm of human breathing’. In addition to the installation, ‘one non-profit in each host city served as a community hub and hosted Breathing Lights events centred on the theme of urban renewal and vacancy’. There were also community ambassadors, workshops, walking tours, and art commissions.SROI is one way to determine a monetary figure for the value of a project like thisInformation for the SROI evaluation took many forms and encompassed the