Museums and the Embodied Mind: Sensory Engagement with Artworks and Architecture

A museum or gallery is usually thought of as a space containing objects arranged in a chosen way. Understanding the multisensory factors that modulate an audience's experiences of artworks in their settings offers museum curators and architects opportunities to enhance visitors’ sensory engagement with their collections. Barry C Smith, Director of the Institute of Philosophy, Centre for the Study of the Senses, School of Advanced Study, University of London, considers a number of ways this can happen.