On How the Arts Transform Us | Susan Magsamen & Ivy Ross

Many of us think of the arts as entertainment or a luxury of some kind. 

But In their New York Times Bestselling Book: Your Brain on Art, 

authors Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross invite us to open our minds and 

consider a breathtaking expansion of this limited view of what the arts are, 

and the power they hold to transform our lives both individually and collectively. 

Ivy, who serves as Chief Design Officer for Consumer Devices at Google, 

and has previously held executive positions spanning from head of product design and development to CMO and presidencies with several of the world’s leading companies, including Calvin Klein, Swatch, Coach, Mattel, and Gap.

And Susan who is the founder and director of the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine where she also serves as a faculty member, 

Originally came together through a cold outreach email on LinkedIn.

That email turned into a 3 hour conversation,

Which ultimately led to a 4 year journey of discovery, writing and research.  

In today’s conversation they will share the fruits of this unlikely and extraordinary collaboration -

As they offer insights, research, and practices that shed light on the new science of neuroaesthetics. 

And the possibility we find ourselves standing in front of:

A cultural shift in which the arts can deliver potent, accessible, and proven solutions for the well-being of everyone.

Susan and Ivy argue that this new understanding about how the arts and aesthetics can help us 

Holds the potential to transform traditional medicine, build healthier communities, 

and mend an aching planet.

And that unlocking this potential is not about seeking something outside of us, 

But rather, 

is about returning to the creative and artistic expression we freely experienced as children.

Embracing art not as a luxury, 

or an escape,

But as our evolutionary birthright.

For more on Ivy, Susan, their beautiful book Your Brain on Art, please visit yourbrainonart.com. 

You can also check out a beautiful newly launched resource center for the Neuroarts that Susan is spearheading at neruoartsresourcecenter.com

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