In this talk Rebecca discusses the changes in visual experience that take place when we learn artistic skills. Focusing on drawing, she shows that as we learn how to draw we also learn how to tune our attention to different aspects of our environment. Rebecca shows the ways scientists can measure these changes in visual experience and consider whether this might play a role in creative practice.

In this talk Oliver Durcan discusses theories about how flow states (deep, effortless absorption in an activity) occur between creative and non-creative activities. He highlights their different demands the potential role of emotions and internal cues for bolstering flow in creative contexts. The talk also covers some of the potentially negative effects of flow states, opening the question of when is a good and bad time to experience flow.

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Seeing Sounds: Music, Imagination, and Creativity

by Diana Omigie

What is happening when we listen to music? Findings from music psychology show that music listening can lead us to relive memories, see images in our mind’s eye and experience epistemic emotions such as curiosity and inspiration. In this talk, Diana Omigie presents some of the work that her group are doing that explores how music influences spontaneous thought and state of mind, and discusses the implications of her groups’ findings for those who create art while listening to music.

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David Luke presents exploration of how psychedelics and other altered states can change perceptions and perspectives in novel ways to enhance creativity and creative problem solving. He will also discuss some of the underlying neural changes that underpin changes in convergent/divergent thinking and the induction of synaesthesia, and what role these play in thinking and perceiving beyond our usual limits.

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