Stimulating the senses: using smell to engage visitors

The Art Engager

How can we use our sense of smell to engage visitors? My guest today, Sofia Collette Ehrich is an art historian and curator of multisensory experiences. She was a key researcher on Odeuropa - a European funded Horizon 2020 project that advocated for smell as an important part of Europe’s cultural heritage.

We discuss when she first realised her passion for working with scents and how smell can make museum experiences more engaging.

We cover her creation of a scent-based tour for Museum Ulm in Germany and a 'Scratch and Sniff' self-guided tour for the Amsterdam Museum.

We also look at the Olfactory Storytelling Toolkit, 'smell walks,' and the idea of a 'sniffer in residence.' Sofia shares lots of practical tips for adding olfactory elements to your programmes.

If you want to infuse the sense of smell into your practice or incorporate more multisensory approaches into your programmes, you'll learn a lot from this episode.

Episode Links:

Sofia Collette Ehrich

https://sofiaehrich.wordpress.com/

https://thesensesationalexplorer.substack.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sofia-collette-ehrich/

https://www.instagram.com/thesensesationalexplorer/

Museum Ulm Links:

https://odeuropa.eu/2022/04/now-open-follow-your-nose-at-museum-ulm/

https://museumulm.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/SELECTION-OF-WORKS-NEW-GUIDED-TOUR-CONCEPT-FOLLOW-YOUR-NOSE-MUSEUM-ULM-1.pdf

https://odeuropa.eu/2023/01/update-follow-your-nose/

City Sniffers Links:

https://odeuropa.eu/2022/08/launch-of-city-sniffers-a-smell-tour-of-amsterdams-ecohistory/

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7utP_pAx_E

Odeuropa Impact:

This is an interesting report about the interviews Cecilia Bembibre conducted with museum professionals who have used smells in GLAMs: https://odeuropa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/D6_1_Guidelines_on_the_Use_of_Smells_in_GLAMs.pdf

Olfactory Storytelling Toolkit:

Download it here: https://zenodo.org/records/10254737

Guidelines for conducting an olfactory guided tour here: https://zenodo.org/records/10102080

Guidelines for conducting a smell walk here: https://zenodo.org/records/10101016

A talk Sofia gave for the Swedish Heritage Commission which included many practical examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YByb-wbXw6E

The Art Engager Links:

Sign up for my Curated newsletter - a fortnightly dose of cultural inspiration

Join the Slow Looking Club Community

Support the show here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/clairebown

Download my free resources:

How to look at art (slowly)- 30+ different ways to look at art or objects in the museum

Slow Art Guide - six simple steps to guide you through the process of slow looking

Ultimate Thinking Routine List - 120 thinking routines in one place

If you have any suggestions, questions or feedback, get in touch with the show by emailing [e-mail]