WEIRD SENSATION FEELS GOOD: The World of ASMR

As little as a decade ago, ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) was largely dismissed as a figment of the imagination. Today the term represents one of the largest movements on the Internet, and it has become impossible to ignore. As academic institutions around the world seek to make sense of the phenomenon, creatives — known as “ASMRtists”— are building on a cultural movement that transcends language and culture in favour of bodily ‘feels’.

ASMR is a term that describes a physical sensation: euphoria or deep calm, sometimes a tingling in the body. In recent years an online audience of millions has grown, dedicated to watching the work of designers and content creators who try to trigger this feeling in their viewers. They do it by whispering or eating, touching or tapping, and more besides. This exhibition is the first dedicated to this feeling, and the emerging field of creativity that has grown up around it.

WEIRD SENSATION FEELS GOOD opened at ArkDes, the Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design in Stockholm in 2020, and it was the first of its kind to lift the world of ASMR out from your screen and into physical space. The exhibition at the Design Museum expanded upon the original concept showing how the ASMR movement has evolved in the period between the two exhibitions. Step into an acoustically tuned environment and understand how people are using new and existing tools and materials to navigate our complex world.

The exhibition won the Dezeen Awards 2022 Exhibition design of the year.

The exhibition is curated in collaboration with ArkDes, the Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design.