Follow the crowd - with help from leading psychologists

Follow the crowd - with help from leading psychologists. Events around the world have made 2011 the year of the crowd - from revolutionary protests in Egypt's Tahrir Square and anti-cuts protests in London to the shared experience of festival culture and the growing influence of Facebook campaigns and crowd-sourcing. Now University of Sussex psychologists John Drury and David Novelli are linking with Brighton art gallery Fabrica to celebrate the power of the crowd during Fabrica's current exhibition Gathering. The exhibition, which has now opened and runs to Sunday 27 November, features video installations of a choreographed crowd and another of a street party by London-based artist Melanie Manchot. Drury and Novelli were commissioned to write about the themes of the exhibition and about their current research in crowd psychology. Drury will also give a public talk on 'Collective joy and crowd empowerment' on Thursday 10 November at 7.30pm at Fabrica. The two exhibition videos each cover themes addressed in experimental studies led by Novelli in his work at Sussex: the role of shared identity in bringing people together in crowded places, and the role of shared action in bringing a physical gathering psychologically together.