How the arts interact with human systems.

The Culture Dynamics project

Culture Dynamics is a collaborative project at MIT investigating how the arts interact with human systems—from the brain to cities to international relations.

Bringing together perspectives from the arts, sciences, and design, the project investigates how artistic activity and human systems shape one another. Its scope includes perception, emotion, and learning, as well as cultural institutions, urban life, creative economies, and international relations.

The project brings scientific knowledge into a shared framework for mapping and modeling these interactions. This work connects questions across disciplines and scales, with the aim of informing cultural practice, innovation, and public policy. The Culture Dynamics Explorer gives this ambition a digital form: a research instrument designed to make these connections navigable.