Dr. James Fox

Great artists are often described as geniuses. But what is artistic genius and would we know it if we saw it? Where does artistic creativity come from? From God, from imagination, or from hard work?

Artists have always been early adopters of new technologies, but in recent years new technologies have appeared more quickly than ever before. Should we be excited about these dramatic changes, or worried?

Many artists have tried to re-shape society, using art as a tool for propaganda and protest, to bring about social change, and to improve people’s lives. But can art really make a difference? And where would we be without it?

Why are some artists famous and others forgotten? Why are some artworks priceless and others worthless? And in an era where so much art is so hard to fathom, how do we know whether a work of art is any good?

Art is an essential part of what it means to be human. But what is art? When did we start creating it? And why do we still need it?

Humans have always speculated about what a perfect world might look like, whether as a reward in the afterlife, part of an origin story like the Garden of Eden, or a real place on Earth. How do we see these ideas play out in the art we create?

The last 150 years has brought about the greatest revolution there's ever been in colour. How have we ended up living in a hyper-coloured world?

The colour white has been associated with purity for millennia in religious iconography, architecture and art. But has it come to represent something darker too?

Until relatively recently in human history, there wasn't a word meaning "blue". Of the ancient cultures, only the Egyptians had a word for this colour. What was everyone else seeing?

Colour is an experience: the colours we see and what they mean to us will differ for every human on the planet. What can art history, science, anthropology, literature and politics teach us about colour?