Matthew Cobb is Professor of Zoology at the University of Manchester where he studies the sense of smell in maggots and Neanderthals. He is also an author of popular science books, including “The Idea of the Brain” (2020).

“I will look at the fundamental question of why are we interested in the brain. In particular, I will show how we came to focus on this lump of apparently inert squishy stuff in our heads, and how our ideas about what the brain does have changed over time, with technology driving our interpretations. Yesterday, we thought the brain was like a telephone exchange, now we think it is like a computer, and tomorrow?” 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Cobb

The Festival of the Brain took place on March 11th 2023 at The Whitaker Museum and Art Gallery Rawtenstall. This day long festival featured a variety of guest speakers each of whom presented different areas of expertise and viewpoints all relating to aspects and ideas of the brain.  

The festival took place during Clements solo show ‘Everyone In This Room is Connected to Everyone in this Room’ at the gallery (Feb 24 – May 7 2023) where she explored visual representations of the brain alongside AR and AI interactions and films.

Filming by LGBTV https://www.lgbtv.co.uk

Edited by Jo Clements