The Art Gallery as Social Space: Public Engagement

Using   recent   literature   in   philosophy   of   mind   and cognitive  science  including  
Strange  Tools:  Art  and  Human Nature by Alva Noë (2015); Beyond the Brain: How Body and 
Environment  Shape  Animal  and  Human  Minds  by  Louise Barrett  (2011);  and  The  Embodied  
Mind:  Cognitive  Science and Human Experience by Francisco J. Varela, Evan Thompson and  Eleanor  
Rosch  (1993),  the  current  paper  presents  an interdisciplinary  4E  framework  that  can  be  
used  to  better understand what it means to increase public engagement and increase diversity in 
nationally funded art galleries. The goal of this paper is to discuss the concept of 4E cognition 
relative to   the   art   gallery   setting   and   how   we   can   apply   this knowledge to the 
issues of public engagement in the visual arts.