Srestha [sray’sh–thaa] moved to Vienna from India in 2023 to join the ARTIS Lab as a PhD candidate. Their interdisciplinary academic background ranges from cognitive psychology and social neuroscience to human neuro/physiology and forensic sciences.

In their PhD research, they are broadly exploring the pro-societal impacts of the visual arts using longitudinal experience sampling and cross-sectional behavioural methods in ecologically valid domestic- and museum-settings. More specifically, applying a decolonial research framework, they are investigating what happens to us when we engage with artworks (either briefly or over extended periods of time), and how that may help bridge diverse communities and cultures, transcending sociopolitical borders.

Their decolonial approach follows ethical, intersectional, and trauma-informed best practices beyond Eurocentric conventions of empirical research, with the overarching aim of addressing global societal challenges. Their research implications are also concurrent with several of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), namely, SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being, SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, and SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

They are also a visual artist, calligrapher and singer, and consider the arts to be an essential agent of socio-political transformation. P.S. They are obnoxiously obsessed with Gaganendranath Tagore’s “Durga Pratima Visarjana”, cute stationery, Hozier, and silly memes.