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Collaborate project spotlight: moving minds

Collaborate project spotlight

Find out more about the research project between Press Play Films and Sophie Forster, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of Sussex.

Moving Minds: A cultural and neuroscientific perspective on the art of engaging autistic children

Press Play Films with Sophie Forster, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of Sussex

Exploring how cultural sector practitioners can design effective, engaging extra-curricular activities for autistic and neurotypical children.

This partnership was awarded a research grant in June 2023 as part of the second round of funding of the Centre for Cultural Value’s Collaborate programme.

The fund looks to support innovative new partnerships between cultural sector practitioners and academics to explore under-explored questions around cultural value.

Child in blue tshirt is sat a laptop making a stop motion animation film. On the table they have models and filming equipment.
Participant at animation club. Press Play Films.

What will the project explore?

Having witnessed successful outcomes for autistic children participating in its stop-motion animation workshops, Press Play Films wants to investigate why this is and how cultural sector practitioners can design effective, engaging extra-curricular activities for autistic and neurotypical children.

Working in partnership with neuroscientist Sophie Forster, this project takes a mixed-method approach using electroencephalography (EEG) readings of children’s brain waves as they produce animations and the content of the animations themselves. The participant-led animation films produced may also incorporate the powerful images of EEG waves in novel, artistic ways.

The scientific data sets collated through this research will potentially serve as pilot data for the future extension of the project.

Find out more about our Collaborate fund

Musicians from the Manchester Camerata orchestra
Image: Manchester Camerata

Collaborate projects

Find out more about the projects that have been awarded funding from our Collaborate programme
Image shows the inside of a gallery with white walls and images on the walls. In the background is a visitor wearing a face covering.
Days Like These exhibition. Image: The Lowry

Funding

Our Collaborate fund supports innovative new research partnerships between the cultural sector and academics.

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