ARTIST AND ARTS activist Sarah Sudhoff created her vibrant and playful piece The Reading Brain as a response to a San Antonio museum exhibit about dyslexia. She was inspired also by her son, who has dyslexia, loves sculptures, and whose favorite color is red.

“Even though your brain works differently, it still lights up and is beautiful to watch, a wonderful machine you have. It just means you have to navigate and pivot a little differently,” says Sudhoff, who collaborated with doctors to collect data for the multisensory installation. She colorfully depicts the intersection of art and science in The Reading Brain, which generates a real-time, changing visualization of brain activity produced by dyslexic children reading.

The Reading Brain was acquired by The Health Museum though its Healing Arts Initiative, and is now a permanent fixture. For her part, Sudhoff is a multidisciplinary artist whose work frequently questions societal norms.