Drawing the Human Brain at the Centre for the Creative Brain

St Edmund Hall’s Centre for the Creative Brain held their Trinity term event ‘Drawing the Human Brain’ on Saturday 28 May 2022. The Hall welcomed Professor Oliver Turnbull, a neuropsychologist from Bangor University, to lead an interactive workshop that explored the anatomy of the human brain through art.

The workshop began with a presentation on basic neuroanatomy, during which Professor Turnbull likened parts of the brain to fruits, tubes, and yo-yos! This was then followed by an interactive art workshop in which attendees learned neuroanatomy through drawing and painting. First, we were taught how to draw a sagittal view of the brain (as if the brain were cut down the middle from front to back). Next, we were guided through the functions of the thalamus and surrounding structures, and how to draw, paint, and shade each of them. The workshop gave us a glimpse into the content of Prof Turnbull’s ever popular “Illustrating the Brain” sessions at the annual Visceral Mind Summer School at Bangor University.

Finally, after the workshop attendees were treated to an exhibition of original 17th Century neuroanatomy drawings, kindly put together by the St Edmund Hall library team.

All Centre for the Creative Brain Events are free and open to all. The Centre for the Creative Brain is generously endorsed by St Edmund Hall and the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford.