Theresa has been a PhD candidate in the ARTIS project since February 2022. She uses behavioural and neurophysiological methods to investigate a possible emotional connections through art. More precisely, she is interested in whether there can be successful connections between an artist and a recipient, how such a connection might influence the art experience, if these connections might be the key for having a transformative experience, and what happens if the sending side of the connection is no human agent?

To investigate these questions, Theresa has investigated art experiences with computer-generated art and worked with artists and art recipients to explore potential connections between them. She has used hyperscanning—an approach that examines brain activity in multiple individuals—to identify possible neural synchrony between artist and recipient, providing insight into shared emotional experiences through art also on the level of the brain.

More broadly, Theresa is fascinated by how emotions are transmitted across different media, including traditional art forms as well as digital and immersive environments and mediated social interactions. In her work she explores how these different modalities shape emotional connection and engagement, offering a deeper understanding of how artistic and communicative experiences evolve in an increasingly digital world.