The Science of Arts Engagement by Wlazeł, Agnieszka;

Short description:

This book responds to the urgent need to develop new ways of studying audience engagement with the arts in times of rapid technological and societal changes. It focuses on audience experiences of engagement, branching out engagement from the facilitation of arts involvement and audience development. 

Long description:

This book responds to the urgent need to develop new ways of studying audience engagement with the arts in times of rapid technological and societal changes.

Integrating humanities, natural sciences, and applied research approaches, the book proposes new methods of arts engagement research. It focuses on audience experiences of engagement, branching out engagement from the facilitation of arts involvement and audience development. The book presents a mixed-methods study of the signs of engagement in audience physiology (heart rate and skin conductance), audience reflections and contextual influence of the artworks. The exploration of the dynamics of audience experiences during two virtual reality art projects demonstrates engagement processes as adaptable. The results suggest that there is no 'best' way to engage with the arts, but rather a range of engagement variants, which – depending on the context – stretch from relaxed alertness to high arousal. The book offers fresh perspectives; questions established audience studies and broader conventions and opens new agendas that reach beyond disciplinary borders.

This volume will resonate with audience scholars, arts practitioners, cultural policymakers, and researchers in psychology, neuroscience, empirical aesthetics, and VR.

'Researchers have toiled for decades working to better understand the human response to art. Wlazel has pushed the envelope. My hope is that curators, artists, and producers – esp. those working in immersive paradigms – would join in this scholarly journey to better understand the levers of impact on mind, body and soul.'

Alan S. Brown, Managing Principal WolfBrown 

'Wlazel’s book is an important contribution to audience research. An essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary virtual culture and audience engagement in general. It shows how we can understand, measure, and value the audience experience.'

Dr Aneta Mancewicz, Senior Lecturer in Drama and Theatre, Royal Holloway, University of London 

Table of Contents:

List of illustrative material
Foreword by Professor Ben Walmsley
Preface
Acknowledgements

Chapter 1 Defining the problem
Chapter 2 Toward a study of experience of engagement
Chapter 3 Methodology – critical realism for integrating perspectives
Chapter 4 Two cases – directed and semi-directed experience
Chapter 5 A New Mixed-Methods Research Design
Chapter 6 Bristol and Whist – internal processes of engagement in context
Chapter 7 From specific data to general understanding
Chapter 8 Adaptative engagement
Chapter 9 Conclusions – shaping arts engagement studies

Post scriptum. Insights from Whist and Step to the Line artists

Bibliography
Appendix A Pre-Experience Questionnaire
Appendix B Post-Experience Questionnaire
Appendix C Semi-structured interview questions – Whist
Appendix D All Bristol and Whist participants – main findings from questionnaires