“Brain(s)” is an exhibition composed of more than 150 pieces, including contemporary art installations, audiovisual works, pieces from historical collections, and the results of scientific research projects on this fascinating organ.
The exhibition also explores minds other than human: artificial, animal, and collective intelligence, as well as those of brainless organisms. Why do we have brains? Where does consciousness come from? And creativity? What happens when the mind becomes ill? Can intelligent machines be created? What can we learn from the collective intelligence of ants? Brain(s) delves into these questions and many others by observing the rich landscape of cognition and its historical development, from natural systems to human-made systems. Through a journey that combines historical, scientific, and artistic material and poses open questions to the visitor, the understanding of conscious experience is challenged and what can happen when it is interrupted or impaired is explored.
Since its presentation in 2022 at the CCCB (Barcelona) and the Espacio Fundación Telefónica (Madrid), the exhibition was shown in 2023 at the Museo San Telmo (San Sebastián) and in 2024 at the Centro de Historias in Zaragoza, to great acclaim. More than 250,000 visitors have already enjoyed this simple, clear, and traveling exhibition, in which an extensive network of researchers, creators, and thinkers participate.
Produced by the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB), the Telefónica Foundation, the Wellcome Collection, and the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (MICIU), and curated by physicist and biologist Ricard Solé and Emily Sargent, Director of Exhibitions at the Wellcome Collection.
We offer guided tours of this exhibition, included in the admission price, every Saturday and Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
