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Canongate seizes Magsamen and Ross’ ‘exhilarating’ book Your Brain On Art
Canongate has acquired an “exhilarating” investigation into what happens in our brains and bodies when we engage with or create art by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross.
Simon Thorogood, editorial director, won UK and Commonwealth rights to Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us from Rachel Kind at PRH US. Helena Gonda, senior commissioning editor, will be editing the book and Canongate will publish in hardback, trade paperback, e-book and audio on 30th March, with a mass-market paperback to follow.
The publisher said that the authors show how activities from painting and dancing to expressive writing, architecture and more are essential to our lives. “They offer compelling research that shows how engaging in an art project for as little as 45 minutes reduces the stress hormone cortisol, no matter your skill level, and just one art experience per month can extend your life by 10 years.
“They expand our understanding of how playing music builds cognitive skills and enhances learning, the vibrations of a tuning fork create sound waves to counteract stress, virtual reality can provide cutting-edge therapeutic benefit, and interactive exhibits dissolve the boundaries between art and viewers, engaging all of our senses and strengthening memory. Your Brain on Art is a portal into this new understanding about how the arts and aesthetics can help us transform traditional medicine, build healthier communities and mend an aching planet.”
Gonda said: “Your Brain on Art is a book about what happens in our brains and bodies when we engage with or create art. Most importantly, it offers an understanding of how these processes can help us dramatically improve our mental and physical health and our communities. It’s a fascinating, empowering and inspiring all-in-one.”
Magsamen is the founder and director of the International Arts + Mind Lab, Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine where she is a faculty member. She is also the co-director of the NeuroArts Blueprint.
Ross is the vice-president of design for hardware product area at Google where she leads a team that has won more than 225 design awards. She is a National Endowment for Arts grant recipient and was ninth on Fast Company’s list of the 100 Most Creative People in Business in 2019.
