Last month we went to the Congress of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics in Jena (@iaea-jena2026.bsky.social, @iaea-aesthetics.bsky.social). We had interesting discussions, experienced art, learned new things, and took many silly photos. Looking forward to IAEA 2028 in Liverpool!

✨️Welcome to our new intern John. Happy to have you in the team! John is a Master’s student in Cognitive Science at the University of Tübingen. He earned his Bachelor’s degree through the Maastricht Science Programme and is now helping Max on a VR study exploring learning in controlled environments

Job Posting: We’re looking for a student assistant (HiWi) to support us! If you’re interested in the topics of aesthetics and learning, are studying in a related field, and are located in Tübingen (or nearby) then apply! 👨‍💻👩‍💻 Feel free to share the info 📣 iwm-tuebingen.de/de/karriere/...

Curious what a CREA workshop looks like? Take a peek at this behind-the-scenes video from our December 2025 workshop, “Learning In and From the Museum,” at IWM, Tübingen @iwmtue.bsky.social Now are really looking forward to CREA 2026 in London!🎡 ➡️ youtu.be/DD3a1SeDdaM 🎥

CREA 2025 Teaser

YouTube video by Nicole R.

youtu.be

ALL rocked at #TeaP2026 🌟 Max presented on the effect of VR-replicas on the aesthetic experience and learning. Gemma presented an interdisciplinary approach to affect and semiosis with art. We had a great time and loads of fun thanks to all the attendees and organizers of @teap2026.bsky.social 💕💙

After spending the last few years in Vienna working on her PhD on beauty in everyday life, Anna Lena now joins the ALLab to work on the Quantum Arcade Project -- a project that looks at the use of arcade games as teaching tools. ✨Welcome to the team, Anna Lena! ✨

🌟 New lab member! 🌟 Welcome Matteo Maioli, joining us for an #Erasmus+ internship! He recently completed his Master’s in Applied Cognitive Psychology at the University of Padua. He is working on a VAIAK global data synthesis and projects at the intersection of psychology and art. Benvenuto, Matteo!✨

It was an absolute pleasure working with you, Emma! Thanks for your bubbly energy and the valuable contributions to the many projects you tackled in our lab. Ad maiora semper - wish you all the best for your future endeavors 💕

Big welcome to our new research assistants, Doha and Emilia! 👋 They’ll be supporting our projects, and we’re excited to have their energy and expertise in the lab. #TeamUpdate #Welcome

Crossroads of Research and Experience of Art (CREA, crea-workshop.com) 2025 will take place on December 19th at the Aesthetics & Learning Lab (IWM, Tübingen). This year’s theme: Learning in and from Museums. We will host interactive, practical exercises, and plenty of idea-sharing #MuseumResearch

CREA

crea-workshop.com

#CREA: Crossroads of Research and Experience of Art #Symposium 🗓️ 18/12/2025 at the IWM in Tübingen, focusing on the theme of #Learning in & from #Museums. The event will be held in a hybrid format, allowing participation in person & online. ℹ️ & registration: sites.google.com/rug.nl/crea/... #art

Since October, Nina Schmidt has joined our team as our team assistant! 🎉 We’re thrilled to have her on board and look forward to working together. Welcome, Nina! 💜

3 weeks ago, we participated in the symposium ‘Investigating Art Together: Interdisciplinary Aesthetics’ in Groningen! We explored big questions from different standpoints: How do we experience art? Why does it move us? Thanks to all speakers and participants for the inspiring day! 🤩 #ArtandScience

Last week, Emma and Gemma attended the 2nd Conference on Aesthetic Development at @ae.mpg.de in Frankfurt am Main. It was lovely to connect with colleagues and share ideas on how aesthetic experiences evolve across lifespans. Looking forward to the next edition! #science #conference

✨ PhDefended! ✨ I’ve finished my PhD “Feeling Art”, which explores how emotions, sensations, movements, and conversations shape art experiences (🔗 doi.org/10.33612/dis...). Huge thanks to all who supported me and excited to continue as a postdoc at the @allab-iwm.bsky.social of @iwmtue.bsky.social 💫

ℹ️Organized by the Aesthetics and Learning Lab (@allab-iwm.bsky.social, lead by Prof. Eva Specker) and supported by many dedicated colleagues, the visit offered young minds a unique glimpse into the past, present, and future of science.

Turin, you were beautiful!✨ And the #BeautyAndChange conference was a melting pot of ideas. We were so glad to be part of it and that we got to share our research projects there. Thanks to the organizers and all the people who listed to our team's 💡-filled talks and Eva's🔥 keynote. See you in 2026!

Eva, Gemma, Max and Ava from the ALL were delighted to join the ‘Arts Engagement and Aesthetic Experience – Bridging the Gap between Arts and Science’ conference hosted by the ETH-Zürich and the Social Brain Sciences Lab. We were excited to present our research surrounded by the beautiful nature🌴☀️🗻

Job Posting: We’re looking for two student assistants (HiWis) to support us! If you’re interested in the topics of aesthetics and learning, are studying in a related field, and are located in Tübingen (or nearby) then apply! 👨‍💻👩‍💻 Feel free to share the info 📣 iwm-tuebingen.de/de/karriere/...

Eva was recently featured in Leibniz's "30 under 30" interview series. It is about young researchers who are about the same age as the association itself 🐣 Eva shares her passion for interdisciplinary research & why aesthetics matters. Check out her interview 📰 www.leibniz-magazin.de/alle-artikel...

We are excited to introduce Emma Becke, our new team member! 🙋‍♀️ Emma comes to us after working on the Neurolive project in London, where she explored what makes live dance performances so engaging. She has now returned to Tübingen to investigate how we learn from aesthetic experiences of visual art🎨🧠

Join our team! We're hiring a Team Assistant to support the ALLab. Responsibilities include administrative tasks, calendar management & more. German (and English) language skills are essential. Check it out and pass on the news: www.iwm-tuebingen.de/de/karriere/...

Last week ALL was well represented in the conference landscape 🗺️, Max presented his poster "Museal VR-Replica: Effects on Art-Experience and Learning" at the #EARLI2025 conference in Graz, Austria. It was a lovely conference with interesting talks and discussions!

✨ Does our body resonate differently when an everyday object is reframed by an artist as ready-made art? Full story & #OpenScience #Rcode are available in our latest publication Ruta, Schino, Wolfe & Iosifyan (2025) Scientific Reports ➡️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Ready-made bodily sensations - Scientific Reports

Embodiment plays an important role in art engagement, yet it is unclear how expectations shape bodily sensations, especially when interacting with ready-made art. In this study, we investigated how ex...

nature.com

Huge thanks to the #VSAC2025 organizers for such an incredible conference! Special thanks to everyone who stopped by my poster "From preliminary findings to a large-scale diary study: Investigating aesthetic experience in everyday life" - loved the insightful discussions and exchanges! 🤓💡

So excited to be at #VSAC2025 in Wiesbaden! 🌟 Swing by and check out our poster today to learn about one of our upcoming studies! Curious? Find the orange poster and let's geek out about our research! 🟠🤓

Hi Bluesky! 🦋 We are the Aesthetics and Learning Lab (ALL). ALLab is based in the Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien (IWM) in Tübingen. Its aim is to empirically investigate how and what can be learned from aesthetic experiences ✨ Stay tuned, for now... That's ALL folks!