Cross-Sensory Art is an immersive summer program that invites high school students to step into the world of multisensory creativity. Throughout the week, students experiment with scent, touch, taste, and sound as artistic materials, while also building confidence in observation, collaboration, and expressive thinking. Through hands-on workshops, discussions, and small sensory experiments, students broaden their understanding of what art can be and cultivate skills that support both studio practice and personal growth.
This engaging five-day studio art workshop introduces high school students to the exciting world of cross-sensory art—creative expression that goes beyond the visual to include touch, smell, sound, and taste. Students will explore how artists around the world use the senses to communicate ideas and emotions, and how our sensory experiences shape the way we understand art and the world around us. Each day will combine short discussions, hands-on studio activities, and sensory experiments designed to spark creativity and curiosity. Students will work with a variety of materials and media to create their own multi-sensory artworks, learning how to incorporate sound, texture, scent, and even flavor into artistic expression. By the end of the week, students will curate a small group exhibition showcasing their projects, offering visitors an immersive, multi-sensory experience. No prior art experience is required—just an open mind and a willingness to experiment!
About the Instructor
Anna Novakov, PhD is a multi-disciplinary artist, writer, designer, curator and currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Fine Arts, Design, and Art History at Hofstra University. She was born in Belgrade (former Yugoslavia) and was raised in Berkeley, California. Novakov is Professor of Art History, Theory and Practice (Emerita) at Saint Mary’s College of California as well as a former Professor of Art History, Theory and Criticism at the San Francisco Art Institute. Since moving back to New York in 2020, she has focused on her studio practice which consists of olfactory installations, wall works and textiles. Her creative practice focuses on the transitory modalities of the olfactory and textile arts. As an artist and certified perfumer, Novakov is able to unpack events through a multisensory artistic lens by examining seemingly inconsequential things. While her creative practice focuses on conceptual perfumery and textile design she is also invested in the role of scent in the construction of personal and collective memories, fragrance as an aspect of Utopian societies and diasporic cooking as a socio-political act.
Daily Program Schedule
- Day 1: Introduction to Cross-Sensory Art & Creative Time Mapping
- Objective: Discover how the senses can shape artistic ideas and learn habits that prepare students for productive studio work.
- Activity: Sensory warm-ups followed by a creative time-mapping workshop where students design a weekly “studio flow” schedule and practice balancing experimentation, reflection, and making.
- Day 2: Scent, Memory & Material Histories
- Objective: Understand how artists use sensory histories—especially smell and touch—to explore culture, identity, and story.
- Activity: Students select a sensory material (an herb, spice, fiber, wax, or sound sample) and trace its cultural or historical lineage, then brainstorm ways to use that material in a small personal art project.
- Day 3: Psychology of the Senses
- Objective: Explore how perception, cognition, and emotion influence sensory experience and creative decision-making.
- Activity: Group conversations on real-life sensory phenomena (e.g., why certain smells evoke memories, how touch reduces stress, how sound shapes mood), paired with exercises where students analyze their own sensory responses and translate them into visual or spatial sketches.
- Day 4: Social Dimensions of Sensory Art: Community, Ethics & Cultural Contexts
- Objective: Understand how artists use sensory practices to address social questions, cultural narratives, and community engagement.
- Activity: Case studies and group discussions on a contemporary issue connected to sensory experience (e.g., food justice, scent and public space, sensory accessibility, or cultural symbolism in materials).
- Day 5: Environmental Sensing & Creative Sustainability
- Objective: Learn how biology, ecology, and environmental science inform sustainable art practices and material choices.
- Activity: Students choose one sensory domain—soundscapes, edible materials, plant dyes, biodegradable surfaces, or tactility in nature—share a short demo or insight with the class before creating a small final piece inspired by their chosen sensory element.
There is an additional fee for transportation for one-week precollegiate camps.
