As human civilization has developed, art is inevitably associated with the characteristics of its time in each period. In this era of rapid development of science and technology, the intersection of art with science and technology has led to new forms of art. As a result, immersive art exhibitions have emerged as a new form of artistic expression. Art aims to guide people to perceive the world and establish a connection with it through artistic activities, and immersive art exhibitions are a good way to achieve this. While visiting immersive exhibitions, audiences develop a subtle connection with the artworks, artists, and even other viewers who share the immersive experience, and this tacit understanding fosters a sense of spiritual relaxation. Therefore, when planning an immersive art exhibition, it is important to create a truly immersive atmosphere. This article aims to explore the historical development of immersive art exhibitions, discuss their characteristics and differences from traditional art exhibitions, and propose a new approach to immersive art exhibitions in museums. By analyzing traditional museum curatorial methods and discussing the application of immersive experiences and digital technologies in the curatorial field - alongside the analysis of two successful exhibitions of animated adaptations of Chinese artist Zhang Daqian’s works at the Chengdu Museum and Shanghai Long Museum in 2016 and 2022, respectively - this article introduces the concept of immersive exhibitions. These exhibitions aim to enhance audience engagement and interactive experiences through animated artworks, expand the expressive forms of traditional museum exhibitions, strengthen the educational and entertainment aspects of art exhibitions, and contribute to increasing the attractiveness and influence of museums.

My FGM Story, Kenya (2022) is a documentary in English (with subtitles) created to be aired on Kenyan television; it has also been translated into Maasai to be shown by activists working to end female genital mutilation (FGM) among the Maasai community in Kenya. The film is presented and produced by filmmaker Laissa Malih Kaunga, who is from Kenya’s Maasai community, and was made in collaboration with Kenyan journalists and #EndFGM activists. The film was made based on research conducted in The Gambia in 2020, where local activists and journalists collaborated to make the film My FGM Story (2020), which was aired on TV in The Gambia to support the country’s #EndFGM campaign. The key finding of that research project was that an effective film that can persuade individuals to stop engaging in FGM must be specific to that country and reflect the perceptions and traditions of FGM related to that community. This article examines how My FGM Story, Kenya builds on the previous project in The Gambia and draws on Cialdini’s research on the psychology of persuasion. While the methodology of collaboration and participation between journalists and activists to the films in Kenya and the Gambia was similar, their contents are very different, reflecting cultural differences between the cultures of The Gambia and Kenya.

The emergence of new regional art markets has increasingly challenged the traditional dominance of Western Europe and North America over the last two decades. Cities such as Dubai, Singapore, and Hong Kong have become significant hubs that house global auction houses and contemporary museums, and host major art events. This study examines how hypermobile creative professionals function in the growth of these emerging art centers. It purposes to elucidate how the transnational mobility of these professionals influences the geographical dynamics of the global art market. The study’s methodology entailed qualitative fieldwork conducted in Istanbul, Doha, Singapore, and Hong Kong, along with in-depth interviews with wide-ranging actors in the art worlds of these cities, including artists, curators, dealers, and collectors. The study’s findings reveal that these actors contribute to the construction of the reputations of these metropolises emerging as art hubs by voting with their feet for the next upcoming art center and actively engaging in the transformation of the local art markets. This study attracts attention to the ways in which the regulation of human mobility affects the journeys and practices of art professionals. In so doing, it proposes a novel lens through which to apprehend the ongoing disparities in the global art market and grasp how historical hegemonies persist amidst continuous calls for more expansive diversity and inclusivity in the art world.

This study delves into the artistic and cultural connections among Polonnaruwa, Sarnath, and Angkor Wat during the 12th century, focusing on their decorative motifs within the context of bilateral relations and contemporary political dynamics. Through an analysis of historical sources, architectural remnants, and artistic styles, the research identifies significant parallels and influences shared among these ancient centers. Polonnaruwa is highlighted as a critical hub where artistic expressions flourished amid external pressures and environmental changes. The city’s advanced carving techniques are seen as a developmental link between the artistic traditions of Angkor and Sarnath, even as foreign invasions and climatic impacts obscured aspects of Polonnaruwa’s artistic legacy. This study underscores the pivotal role of Polonnaruwa, Angkor, and Sarnath in shaping the cultural landscape of South and Southeast Asia during this period, demonstrating how artistic innovations and diplomatic interactions fostered a shared visual language across the region.

Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education integrates diverse disciplines through a transdisciplinary approach, emphasizing design thinking and inquiry-based learning to develop technical skills and social connection. This study explores a STEAM-focused project implemented in an Art Appreciation course for non-art majors at a university in Nacogdoches, Texas, where 27 students designed board games to strengthen their sense of belonging to the university and local community. Using the principles of design thinking—empathy, ideation, prototyping, and testing—students combined technological skills and collaborative practices to create engaging and meaningful outcomes that reflected their understanding of community identity. The study addresses two key research questions: (1) How do students design board games using the framework of design thinking to express community identity and belonging? (2) How do their reflections and creative processes contribute to fostering a sense of belonging to the university and community? Drawing on Strayhorn’s framework of academic belonging, findings demonstrate that the integration of creative production with community storytelling strengthened students’ connections to place, peers, and institution. Through inquiry-based learning, students developed both technical proficiency and deeper community engagement, while their board games served as cultural artifacts that encoded shared experiences and values. This research advances our understanding of how STEAM education can simultaneously promote technical innovation and strengthen community belonging. It contributes to the broader understanding of STEAM’s role in general education curricula, suggesting new approaches for combining practical skill development with meaningful community connection. In addition, it offers implications for curriculum design and pedagogical practices in higher education, particularly in fostering student engagement through creative, community-centered projects.

Within a transdisciplinary perspective encompassing a critical approach to technology and the performing arts, this article examines the positive evolution of the principles of autonomy and adaptation through the Feldenkrais method of somatic education in the context of the transition from traditional hands-on teaching to video-conferencing as experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Inspired by the Awareness Through Movement lessons, significant sensorimotor and functional improvements were observed in numerous dancers and performers after 3 months of online teaching. The video conferencing technology introduced a sense of distance from the student, modified the experiential environment, and transformed the perceptual relationship between the teacher and student. This amplified participants’ self-reliance, shifting attention from a passive to an active mode. Such sensorimotor learning leads to a reprogramming of the nervous system. The development of greater autonomy in students may be reasonably associated with the somatic principle of “sensory authority.” To conclude, the proposed hypothesis states that these changes represent a positive complexification of the self, our relationship with others, and our environments. The hypothesis also calls for heightened awareness and consideration of the reorganization of our internal body cartographies. This reorganization can potentially facilitate the transition from a state of frustration, as defined by neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, to an act of creation. Finally, it is suggested that the ontological shifts observed in the body and the sensate may be associated with an additional multimodal knowledge structure that enriches an anthropological reflection of our becoming.

This study explores how Chinese sound art in exhibition contexts has evolved since the 1980s and examines its interactions with Western sound art. It provides a detailed analysis of representative exhibitions and works to investigate the creative concepts, cultural backgrounds, and international influences shaping Chinese sound art. While Chinese sound art has roots in local experimentation, it has increasingly integrated into the international exhibition system, gaining recognition through frequent exchanges and participation in global events. The study highlights a gap in academic attention toward the unique challenges and opportunities present in the exhibition environments of Chinese sound art. By adopting a methodological approach that combines historical analysis with case studies of key exhibitions, it traces the transformation of sound art into an independent artistic language in China. In addition, it examines conceptual, technical, and cultural distinctions between sound art in China and the West, shedding light on how these differences shape artistic practices and audience experiences. Ultimately, the study argues that Chinese sound art has developed a distinctive sound esthetics that intertwines traditional cultural symbols with contemporary global influences, marking its significance as a critical component of the evolving international sound art discourse.

Diverse in shape and size, construction material, compositional, constructive, and plastic solutions, altars were the main architectural and artistic highlights of church interiors. This article is devoted to the exploration of the origin history of the alabaster altar of the Passion of Christ in Lviv, analysis of its architectural, artistic, and compositional features, and determination of its artistic value. The relief alabaster altar on the theme “The Passion of Christ” was crafted by Jan Zaremba, a Lviv sculptor, in 1595, funded by Lviv patron Jan Scholz-Wolfowicz for the Chapel of the Holy Cross of the Latin Cathedral in Lviv. At present, the altar is located in the Orthodox Cathedral of the Protection of the Mother of God in Lviv. The altar is made of local alabaster, a gypsum rock with low hardness, suitable for relief decorative finishes. The Passion of Christ altar is constructed in the form of a triptych with a base, tier, and top. A feature of the altar is the organic combination of bas-reliefs and decorative carving in its architectonics, characteristic of the Renaissance period in Lviv. The plastic interpretation of the narrative scenes of the Passion of Christ in the iconographic composition of the Renaissance alabaster altar is analyzed. Sculptor Jan Zaremba was able to skillfully and confidently convey the realistic emotional state of the characters, and recreate a multi-layered space in the bas-relief narrative compositions of the Passion of Christ. He created a harmonious, complete, highly artistic work of correct proportions, built according to the laws of the golden ratio, which satisfied the spiritual and esthetic needs of the faithful. The studied altar holds high artistic and scientific value and belongs not only to the artistic heritage of Ukraine but also to the world’s cultural heritage.

This paper examines the current state of African art history and material culture and its changing directions since the 1970s when ethnographic fieldwork on historical art and ritual in the rural context was the norm. It points to the significant shift in interest during the last three decades from research and field study on historical arts to contemporary African creativity by artists at home and abroad. In addition, the paper discusses the more recent impact of social and political factors in the Euro-American world challenging the West’s hold on material treasures from Africa acquired during the colonial period and their long-standing Western interpretation and exposure. This focus on the past has set into motion restitution projects and provenance research of illegally acquired museum objects. Given the current divide between scholars of different origins, training, and perspectives, as well as the diverse viewpoints of Afrodescendants across the Western world, issues concerning research methods, provenance, and the return of African collections to their homelands pose many challenges that call for new transparent and collaborative approaches.

The growing presence of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated images underscores the need to better prepare future teachers for the urgency of adequate literacy in this context. Fundamental concepts such as mimesis, truth, impersonation, defamation, and creativity become essential when working and reflecting on contemporary AI-generated images. The main objective of this study is to identify the most relevant aspects in using these images from the perspective of arts education and to analyze the relationship between AI-generated pictures and the development of critical thinking. In this sense, it explores how the creation, interpretation, and use of such images influence the ability of future teachers to evaluate the veracity of visual information, detect implicit biases in algorithms, reflect on the creative processes involved, and consider the associated ethical implications. This article examines how the use of these images impacts the critical capacity of individuals, promoting a rigorous evaluation of their authenticity, the analysis of inherent biases, and a deep reflection on the ethical and creative implications of their dissemination. Through this approach, we seek to highlight the role of emerging visual technologies in the promotion of critical skills, which are essential in the current digital and media context.

This article explores lianhuanhua (serial illustrated books), the predominant form of children’s illustrated literature in China during Mao Zedong’s era, with over 20 billion copies sold. While lianhuanhua encompassed diverse themes, its content consistently reflected the communist ideology of the time. Despite its historical popularity, lianhuanhua has largely faded from public memory. Through an analysis of 400 lianhuanhua books published between 1949 and 1976, this article examines their imagery, text, and communicative strategies, highlighting their role in bridging Chinese children’s literature with political indoctrination. In addition, interviews with 500 Chinese individuals who grew up during Mao’s era provide insights into the influence of lianhuanhua on political perceptions. The findings suggest that young readers internalized the ideological expectations of the Communist Party of China through these books, demonstrating how lianhuanhua marked the emergence of a strong connection between Chinese children’s literature and political education.

In this paper, I discuss the painting Caresses (1896) by the Belgian Symbolist painter Fernand Khnopff as a portrait of a man-animal-machine hybrid, framed as an alienating reinterpretation of the encounter between Oedipus and the sphinx. I interpret Caresses in two ways: first, as a reflection of modern Western obstacles that impede the development of a proper moral response to the Anthropocene condition, and second, as a potential source of inspiration for Anthropocene morality. For the first reading, I focus on four quasi-simultaneous events that epitomize these obstacles. First, I begin with the first scientific description of global warming by Svante Arrhenius in 1896, which introduced a gap between the physical and moral dimensions of the Anthropocene. Second, I link the first Belgian automobile festival in 1896 to modern Western technological triumphalism. Third, I discuss Freud’s theory of the Oedipus complex, first introduced in 1897, as an instance of the modern Western tendency to seek meaningfulness within the individual. Finally, I analyze Joséphin Péladan’s art salons (1892 - 1896) as an example of the late 19th-century esoteric revival - highly influential in proposing alternative sources of meaningfulness but ultimately failing to provide one that fits our Anthropocene condition. In reinterpreting Caresses as a source of inspiration for an ecological Anthropocene morality, I discuss the painting in terms of three non-Freudian “Oedipus complexes” that articulate our hybrid nature as beings embedded within the Earth’s critical zone - a dense network of intelligences encompassing life-forms, technologies, and our moral and philosophical frameworks.

A poem is comprehended as a complex macro-image that combines autosemantic, synsemantic, and subsemantic image levels. These levels are mutually conditioned and interact with one another, requiring a comprehensive reconstruction in translation that considers their hierarchy and relationships within the macro-image and broader contexts. The main goal of this study is to introduce a comprehensive scheme for the integral multi-aspect analysis of poetry during the translation process aimed at achieving translation adequacy. The article identifies and depicts the macro-image structure of a poem, which is essential for its interpretation, pre-translating analysis, translation, and quality assessment. This study treats a poem as a macro-image method of structural formation composed of interconnected image systems. An adequate rendering of these systems reflects the unity of the content and form of the original poem in its translation. Furthermore, it also provides a new definition of poetic translation. The proposed macro-image structure-system scheme of poetic works would facilitate a thorough analysis of the original poem and its adequate reconstruction in another language. Applying this scheme to existing translations would contribute to a more comprehensive analysis of poetic works and enhance translation adequacy.

The experience of listening to music implies the evocation of pleasant and unpleasant emotions in everyday life and music teaching. During music lessons, music can stimulate or regulate students’ emotions, thereby promoting children’s emotional development. This study discusses research conducted in 2024 to determine the emotions evoked by different compositions in music school students and investigate potential differences in emotional experiences based on sex, grade level, and familiarity with the composition. In total, 134 students from primary and secondary music schools in the Republic of Croatia participated in a survey. They listened to eight different compositions for approximately 1 min. For each composition, they noted whether they have heard it before, picked one of four emotions (happiness, sadness, calmness, and anger/anxiety) that they felt the strongest, and rated the strength of that emotion on a scale of 1 - 3. Over half of the participants concurred on the emotions elicited by each composition. There were no statistically significant differences in the expressed emotions among the students based on their sex, grade level, or familiarity. The results reflected high levels of consensus about the emotions evoked by musical pieces between individuals from the same cultural backgrounds and general age groups.

Push The ENVELOPE Sound Art Initiative is a 2-year program curated by Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong and designed by a team of professional sound artists, instrument designers, experimental musicians, and composers to introduce sound as a medium for creation and collaboration. This paper describes the background to and impetus of the initiative; gives an outline of activities; and discusses objectives and methods for engaging deeper contacts between audiences and artists in Hong Kong.