Join us for this installment of our Coffee with a Curator series, where Museum Staff or invited guests speak on a range of Dalí-inspired topics. In conjunction with our special exhibition, The Shape of Dreams, Dr. Ruthann Atchley, a professor of psychology at The University of South Florida, will discuss sleep and dreams through a psychological lens.

Salvador Dalí famously argued that “reality dies in love as in dreams.” (Diary of a Genius, 1965). He frequently utilized the bizarre and emotion laden content of his dreams as both source and inspiration for his astonishing, disturbing and influential art. In this talk, Atchley will examine the neuropsychological evidence that supports Dalí’s recommendations for harnessing dream imagery. She will discuss empirically-supported techniques that may be employed to gain conscious access to both sleep-onset and REM dreams. Further, she will discuss the importance of sleep and dreaming as life-sustaining neuro-biological processes, and the impact that sufficient and high-quality sleep can have on health and well-being.