Throughout time, smells and the act of smelling (also known as olfaction) have been overlooked in Western arts, culture, and media. However, our sense of smell’s direct link with our brain’s limbic system means that when we smell, it activates our memory and emotions in impactful ways. This makes olfaction a powerful pathway and tool to connect with our own past and that of other people and places – and perhaps an interesting precursor to nostalgic perception. Although commonly thought of as the emulation of an aesthetic – grainy home videos, or Instagram filters – could we take a more sensory approach to nostalgia? How is nostalgia more than just a visual phenomenon? To start exploring such questions, Kunstlicht dedicated their June issue to collecting different ways in which nostalgia is related to smell, olfactory turns in art and memory keeping.
Kunstlicht’s Nosetalgia issue showcases artists, perfumers, and scholars who contribute their thoughts, anecdotes and analyses of how smell plays an integral role to our nostalgic perceptions. For our event organised to celebrate World Taste and Smell Day, we will invite a few contributors of the Nosetalgia issue for a fun evening of inspiring and nosetalgic discussions. This event is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn more about sensory studies and its impact on visual arts and media. The night will feature excerpt readings from the writers, an interview, short presentations, and a concluding discussion and Q&A session with the writers of Nosetalgia.
REGISTER TO ATTEND HERE
ABOUT OUR PARTNER
Sofia Collette Ehrich is an art historian, academic researcher, podcast host, and curator of multisensory experiences. She currently works as an academic researcher on the European Funded Horizon 2020 project Odeuropa, which advocates for smells and smelling as an important part of heritage. She is the host for the Internet of Senses Institute podcast on the sense of smell where she interviews experts in the field of olfaction. Amarens Eggeraat is a writer, journalist and occasional tour guide. She has published work in Vrij Nederland, Vers Beton and currently works for VICE. In her free time, she likes to retrace smells of the past. Lisa Marie Sneijder is a design researcher, writer and curator and is the editor-in-chief of Kunstlicht, a journal about visual culture, and works at the Design Academy Eindhoven. Her current interests focus on 1960-70s countercultural design and curatorial activism. Kunstlicht is an academic journal for art, visual culture, and architecture. Three issues are published each year - two single issues and one double issue. Each issue focuses on one specific theme. The journal was founded in 1980. The editorial board consists of students and alumni of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam who have diverse research interests. The journal has been completely volunteer-run from top to bottom since the beginning. The journal is affiliated with the Arts and Culture department at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam but operates as an autonomous foundation. Each issue of Kunstlicht is designed by Corine van der Wal. To subscribe to Kunstlicht click here.
