Action Research Project

The Thinking Eye is excited to collaborate on a community-led action research project at Dulwich Picture Gallery, which aims to discover new ways for Old Master paintings to connect and speak to contemporary society. The project seeks to build connections with audiences by training the local community in paid researcher roles and working with them to run research sessions to better understand and amplify local, diverse voices. The Thinking Eye will train the community researchers in the VTS facilitation techniques so that they can use VTS in their community engagement activities. The research findings will be used to develop a series of commissions to put the findings into action, presenting new insights into key themes that have been unexplored in the permanent collection of Dulwich Picture Gallery.

The project is lead by Shortwork and funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.

Interactive Art History Workshop

Have you ever wondered what to make of an image? One way of looking at artworks is through using Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), which guides people through a process of curious exploration, critical reflection and collective meaning-making.

The Thinking Eye is excited to collaborate with the Athena Art Foundation to offer a special online session which will focus on one pre-modern artwork relating to ambiguities around sex and gender identity. Together, we will explore this theme and learn more about VTS as a strategy for looking at art.

Date and time

Wed, 1 June 2022

18:00 – 18:45 BST

Open to everyone, no experience necessary.

New Online VTS Facilitator Course

Bookings are now open for the new ‘Online Visual Thinking Strategies and the Social Brain - Facilitator Course’, which will start on the 22th of September 2021. The course will take place over 8 weeks in 90 min sessions. Upon completion of the course, participants will receive a Certificate of Training, a VTS handbook (ebook) with a summary of the covered theory and techniques, and the ebook of The Thinking Eye’s Shaping Open Minds publication.​

Dates: 22 Sept, 29 Sept, 6 Oct, 13 Oct, 20 Oct, 27 Oct, 3 Nov, 10 Nov.

Time: 9:30-11:00 BST

Costs: £300

Available places: 8

Seeing the Bigger Picture

Seeing the Bigger Picture

Visual Imagination and the Social Brain

Janneke van Leeuwen, 2020

ABSTRACT

This PhD thesis describes multimodal aspects of visual imagination in relation to visual art and complex images, defining ‘visual imagination’ broadly as a dynamic of complex psychological processes that integrate visual information with prior experiences and knowledge to construct internal models of oneself, others and the outside world.

Complementary neuroscientific and artistic research methods were used to probe relationships between visual imagination and social brain functions in neurologically healthy young adults (age 20 - 30) and senior adults (age 50+). The research also included 14 case studies of senior adults (age 50+) living with various forms of dementia.

The research took place between the Wellcome Collection, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, and the Limehouse Art Foundation in London, UK, in collaboration with the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, NL.

The eBook of the thesis can be downloaded for free.

Visual Thinking Strategies Course

The Photographers' Gallery London 22/23 June 2019

This intensive 2-day course, lead by Janneke van Leeuwen, covers the theory and practice of developing VTS group conversations with visual works of art or complex imagery.

VTS is a methodology for facilitating a group discussion around single photographs or artworks. This session is particularly for educators, but will also be of use to artists and others interested in developing their own critical thinking, visual literacy and collaborative communication skills.

The course is taught through lectures (40% information/theory related to psychological theories and studies behind the VTS method) and practice (60% practical sessions as a group). Using a selection of images in the studio and exhibition spaces, participants take turns applying the VTS methodology with the rest of the group.

By taking part, participants will:

• develop practical skills in the basic techniques of facilitating group conversations on visual artworks and complex images with the VTS method;

• gain knowledge of the theoretical and research framework behind the VTS method;

• learn more about the relationship between visual imagination and the social brain.

Each participant will also receive a VTS course completion certificate and an e-book of Shaping Open Minds.

Janneke van Leeuwen is an artist and neuropsychologist currently undertaking research for a PhD with University College London's Institute of Neurology. She is Founder of the Thinking Eye, dedicated to understanding links between the human brain and our visual world. Janneke is a qualified VTS facilitator and coach for individuals and teams.

Places limited.

£300/£280 Members & concessions

Shaping Open Minds, 2nd Edition

Out Now: Shaping Open Minds, 2nd Edition (2018)

Written for a broad audience and accompanied by striking drawings, Shaping Open Minds explores how the arts-based learning method Visual Thinking Strategies engages the social brain networks, facilitating complex meaning making and creative thought processes. Available as Magazine ($15 + shipping) and e-Book ($10).