loneliness and being alone
a big anxiety festival and exhibition
Loneliness is now recognised as a priority public health problem with a serious impact on physical and mental health, quality of life, and longevity.
Why is this, and what can we do about it?
The Big Anxiety Research Centre is hosting the festival loneliness and being alone, and the textures of loneliness exhibition, exploring the conditions and determinants of loneliness across diverse communities, showcasing a range of creative resources, programs and innovative tools, designed to help alleviate it.
It asks how we can build social connection – but also the capacity to enjoy being alone – to feel as if we belong to a place, community or environment.
“It’s a joy to be hidden, a disaster not to be found.”
— D. W. Winnicott, British psychoanalyst
loneliness and being alone festival
Monday 13th – Friday 17th April
UNSW Health Translation Hub,
Ground Floor
loneliness and being alone is a week-long festival with daily conversations, Virtual Reality experiences, immersive media, AI companions and visual art.
Festival schedule
Session bookings now open
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- Yarning with Uti Kulintjaku
- Traces VR experience
Monday April 13th
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
UNSW Health Translation Hub, Seminar Room
No bookings required
Yarning with Uti Kulintjaku (NPY Womens Council)
Panjiti Lewis and Rene Kulitja will host a public yarn about their VR work, Wau-Mananyi – The Song on the Wind.
Formed by the Ngangkari (traditional healers) and artists of the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women’s Council, Uti Kulintjaku addresses community issues of mental health from both Aboriginal and Western perspectives.
The team have created a virtual reality work, sharing their healing practices through creative visualisation. Waumananyi: The Song on the Wind is an Aṉangu-led response to the experiences of constraint, entrapment and depression through the traditional story of The Man in the Log.
Monday April 13th
9:30 am - 12:30 pm
UNSW Health Translation Hub, Seminar Room
Traces: The Grief Processor
Virtual Reality experience with Couzin Films team visiting from Canada.
45-minute sessions
TRACES: The Grief Processor is a multi-user interactive VR experience inviting you to poetically explore your grief—whether from the loss of a friendship, a home, a dream or a loved one—in a personalized and introspective way. Led by a ritualist and shaped by the creator’s personal journey, the experience unfolds within a dreamlike forest, where each step gently unveils a new facet of grief. In this space, grief is not just something to overcome but rather something to be acknowledged, expressed, and integrated into the fabric of life. A playful yet profound documentary-based odyssey, TRACES guides its participants through the universal complexities of loss, helping them emerge with a renewed sense of emotional insight, resilience and connection.
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- Festival Launch Night
- Festival presentation in Mandarin
- Traces VR experience
- Fluid by Sherre DeLys
Tuesday April 14th
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
UNSW Health Translation Hub, Seminar Room
loneliness and being alone Festival Launch
The launch of a week-long Festival from The Big Anxiety Research Centre.
Join us for the launch of the loneliness and being alone Festival and 陪伴 (péi bàn), our new AI companion - created with and for Chinese international students to support wellbeing.
This event kicks off a week of conversations, Virtual Reality experiences, immersive media, AI companions and visual art at the UNSW Health Translation Hub.
On the launch night, we will have VR and AI companions on display, along with the accompanying exhibition textures of loneliness.
The Festival will be launched by Professor Attila Brungs, President & Vice-Chancellor, UNSW Sydney.
Tuesday April 14th
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
UNSW Health Translation Hub, Seminar Room
No bookings required
Loneliness festival presentation in Mandarin Chinese & Wei Wang Unconscious Place: Finding the Entrance 无意识之所：寻找入口
Special presentation in collaboration with the Art Therapy Research Center, Central Academy of Fine Art [CAFA], Beijing, supported by Bridging Hope Charity Foundation – with online delivery to CAFA.
Mandarin speakers are invited to join us for a two part presentation.
Part 1 - Drawing on her training in both architecture and psychoanalysis, Wei Wang has developed a self-directed method of reflection and analysis, using public space to facilitate psychoanalytic self-encounters. Her method transposes key elements of the analytic setting—traditionally located within the consulting room—into spatial environments. This presentation will be in Mandarin, and an English language version will be available on Thursday 12 pm.
Part 2 - Chinese students working with the curatorial/production team will introduce the Loneliness and Being Alone festival and Textures of Loneliness exhibition (in Mandarin).
孤独主题节（Loneliness Festival）中文专场讲座
王伟《无意识之所：寻找入口》
本次特别讲座由澳大利亚新南威尔士大学与中国中央美术学院艺术治疗研究中心合作举办，并获得北京桥爱慈善基金会支持，通过线上形式面向中央美术学院同步开展。
我们诚邀中文观众参与本次讲座，包含以下两个环节：
第一部分
博士候选人王伟基于建筑学与精神分析的交叉研究，开发出一种以公共空间为媒介的自我反思与分析方法，以激发精神分析式的自我相遇。
这一方法将原本存在于精神分析咨询室中的关键“设置”（analytic setting）转译至日常空间之中，并通过一系列简明的空间实践方式被激活，包括自我引导的行走与自由联想式书写。这些实践引导参与者在空间中觉察并反思其内在自我。在行走之中，在路径、边界与入口之间，个体逐渐靠近那些尚未被言说的无意识体验。（参与者可提前通过二维码获取并体验该练习。）
本场讲座将以中文进行（英文版本将于周四中午12点举行）。
Tuesday April 14th
9:30 am - 2:30 pm
UNSW Health Translation Hub, Seminar Room
Traces: The Grief Processor
Virtual Reality experience with Couzin Films team visiting from Canada.
45-minute sessions
TRACES: The Grief Processor is a multi-user interactive VR experience inviting you to poetically explore your grief—whether from the loss of a friendship, a home, a dream or a loved one—in a personalized and introspective way. Led by a ritualist and shaped by the creator’s personal journey, the experience unfolds within a dreamlike forest, where each step gently unveils a new facet of grief. In this space, grief is not just something to overcome but rather something to be acknowledged, expressed, and integrated into the fabric of life. A playful yet profound documentary-based odyssey, TRACES guides its participants through the universal complexities of loss, helping them emerge with a renewed sense of emotional insight, resilience and connection.
Tuesday April 14th
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
UNSW Health Translation Hub, Seminar Room
Fluid by Sherre DeLys
15-minute sessions
This is an invitation to take part in a one-to-one encounter that explores the experience of being alone through a simple, shared exchange.
When you enter the room, you will sit with the artist at a table. A single question will be passed back and forth between you over a short period of time. Each of you respond briefly, then return the question, creating a steady rhythm of exchange. There is space to pause, to listen, and to notice what emerges in that process. The work invites both you and the artist to explore together your own experience of aloneness—whether as loneliness, solitude, or something in between—through attention, dialogue, and time.
Video production: Gary Warner. Thanks to Joan Grounds and Jacky Winter Waters Contemplative Residency program.
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- Tools and Tech for Processing Grief
- Traces VR Experience
- Subjects of Loneliness Activity
Wednesday April 15th
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
UNSW Health Translation Hub, Seminar Room
Roundtable talk on tools and tech for processing grief and loss.
Join an international group of experts to discuss how we might use VR, chatbots, AI companions and visceral media to process our grief.
A roundtable with:
Scientia Prof Jill Bennett and Dr Gail Kenning, authors of Ageing and the Machine: psychosocial aesthetics, design and technology, Springer 2026 and VR/AI producers at fEEL Lab/UNSW Big Anxiety Research Centre.
Ziad Touma, producer and Vali Fugulin, director (Canada), creators of Traces: The Grief Processor, a multi-user interactive VR experience, screening in the festival.
Professor Emma Kirby and Dr Jane Mowll from The Care Lab (School of Social Sciences, UNSW).
Wednesday April 15th
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
UNSW Health Translation Hub, Seminar Room
Traces: The Grief Processor
Virtual Reality experience with Couzin Films team visiting from Canada.
45-minute sessions
TRACES: The Grief Processor is a multi-user interactive VR experience inviting you to poetically explore your grief—whether from the loss of a friendship, a home, a dream or a loved one—in a personalized and introspective way. Led by a ritualist and shaped by the creator’s personal journey, the experience unfolds within a dreamlike forest, where each step gently unveils a new facet of grief. In this space, grief is not just something to overcome but rather something to be acknowledged, expressed, and integrated into the fabric of life. A playful yet profound documentary-based odyssey, TRACES guides its participants through the universal complexities of loss, helping them emerge with a renewed sense of emotional insight, resilience and connection.
Wednesday April 15th
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
UNSW Health Translation Hub, Foyer
No bookings required
Subjects of Loneliness by Michael Garbutt
One-hour, multi-activity session.
Explore loneliness and solitude through playful, mindful, embodied practices led by Michael Garbutt, author of Mindful Eye, Playful Eye: 101 Amazing Museum Activities for Discovery, Connection, and Insight (Smithsonian Books, 2024).
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- Unconscious Place by Wei Wang
- Student Run Workshops
- Fluid by Sherre DeLys
Thursday April 16th
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
UNSW Health Translation Hub, Foyer
No bookings required
Unconscious Place: Finding the Entrance by Wei Wang
Small group, casual discussion.
Drawing on her training in both architecture and psychoanalysis, Wei Wang has developed a self-directed method of reflection and analysis, using public space to facilitate psychoanalytic self-encounters.
Her method transposes key elements of the analytic setting—traditionally located within the consulting room—into spatial environments. These elements are activated through simple practices including self-guided walks and free-associative journalling, which encourage participants to reflect on their inner experiences.
Participants may undertake Wei’s exercise in advance, access here: Find the Way In
Thursday April 16th
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
UNSW Health Translation Hub, Seminar Room
No bookings required
Student Run Workshops
A variety of workshops run by students from the Art & Design Work Integrated Learning program and the Master of Simulation and Immersive Technologies.
The workshops invite people in to express their emotions and feelings of loneliness amongst others if varied and creative ways.
Thursday April 16th
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
UNSW Health Translation Hub, Seminar Room
Fluid by Sherre DeLys
15-minute sessions
This is an invitation to take part in a one-to-one encounter that explores the experience of being alone through a simple, shared exchange.
When you enter the room, you will sit with the artist at a table. A single question will be passed back and forth between you over a short period of time. Each of you respond briefly, then return the question, creating a steady rhythm of exchange. There is space to pause, to listen, and to notice what emerges in that process. The work invites both you and the artist to explore together your own experience of aloneness—whether as loneliness, solitude, or something in between—through attention, dialogue, and time.
Video production: Gary Warner. Thanks to Joan Grounds and Jacky Winter Waters Contemplative Residency program.
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- Roundtable on the Isolation of DV
Friday April 17th
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
UNSW Health Translation Hub, Seminar Room
Discussion on coercive control and the ways in which systems isolate victims.
Join Jess Hill, Michelle and the creative team behind Space for Action (VR) and the UNSW Gendered Violence Research Network for a discussion of coercive control and the ways in which the systems that should offer help and support can further isolate survivors of domestic and family violence.
Part 1: 11am -12pm will be a conversation about coercive control and the way it isolates women.
Part 2: 12pm - 1pm will focus on the Space for Action VR with Michelle talking about the process of making the VR experience with the creative team. Includes refreshments and a chance to experience the VR.
Space for Action is a Virtual Reality experience created by Australian survivors of family and domestic violence. Perpetrators of domestic violence typically constrict women’s space for action over time, narrowing their life choices and constraining their freedom. The VR experience evokes the physical sensations and feelings of entrapment, as well as the processes of grooming and gaslighting that combine to create the conditions of ‘unfreedom’.
The Space for Action VR may be viewed before/after the roundtable and throughout the festival week at HTH.
Festival projects
These are a selection of works that will be on display during the festival. Featuring interdisciplinary research, social connection workshops, and VR and immersive media experiences.
陪伴 (péi bàn) – AI Companion Project | fEEL Lab
Work on show April 13th-17th
UNSW Chinese students have been working with our Psychosocial AI team (fEEL Lab) to create a prototype AI companion for student wellbeing. Our two companions, Tom and Mia will on display and accessible throughout the festival week.
陪伴 (péi bàn) in Mandarin Chinese means to accompany, to keep someone company, or to stay with someone.
In collaboration with the Art & Design Work Integrated Leaning program and Master of Simulation and Immersive Technologies.
Skilful AI Companions | fEEL Lab
Work on show April 13th-17th
Meet Viv, Zoe and Richard, AI companions created by our Psychosocial AI team (fEEL Lab). Recently trialed in residential aged care with the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, they are part of an ARC-funded project to address loneliness in older age.
Waumananyi/Man in the Log | Uti Kulintjaku + fEEL Lab
VR work available April 13th-17th
Wau-mananyi is an Aṉangu-led VR experience evoking experiences of loneliness, entrapment and depression through the traditional story of The Man in the Log – as told by Ngangkari (traditional healers).
Edge of the Present | fEEL Lab
VR work available April 13th-17th
Edge of the Present is a mixed reality environment, in which the pink door acts as a portal to a succession of other worlds.
The project was developed from workshops with survivors of suicide attempts, exploring short-term actions to enhance mood, hopefulness and future thinking.
EmbodiMap | fEEL Lab
VR work available April 13th-17th
EmbodiMap is a VR tool that enables users to engage with and map their feelings, thoughts and emotions and how these are experienced within the body.
World Comes Alive | fEEL Lab
VR work available April 13th-17th
World Comes Alive is an experience of being in a virtual world. It is both an aesthetic experience and a practical aide to working with embodied experience: a means to investigate how we might locate ourselves in a world that can sometimes seem implacably dead to us.
Space For Action | fEEL Lab
VR work available April 13th-17th
Space for Action is a Virtual Reality experience created by Australian survivors of family and domestic violence. The VR experience evokes the physical sensations and feelings of entrapment, as well as the processes of grooming and gaslighting that combine to create the conditions of ‘unfreedom’.
Fluid | Sherre DeLys
Workshop active April 16th + 17th
Sit down with your guide to explore your experience of being alone through a simple, one-to-one exchange. A single question is passed back and forth between you, with space to notice what emerges. Together, you’ll explore aloneness—whether as loneliness, solitude, or something between - through attention, dialogue and time.
Video production: Gary Warner. Thanks to Joan Grounds and Jacky Winter Waters Contemplative Residency program.
Unconscious Place: Finding the Entrance / 无意识之所：寻找入口 | Wei Wang
Workshop active April 14th + 15th
Finding the Entrance uses public spaces to facilitate psychoanalytic self-encounters. Participants are invited to take a self-guided walk in public space and engage in free-associative journaling, which can activate unconscious processes.
Traces: The Grief Processor | Couzin Films (Canada)
VR work available April 13th-15th
Traces: The Grief Processor is a multi-user interactive VR experience inviting you to poetically explore your grief—whether from the loss of a loved one, a friendship, a home, or even a dream—in a personalised and introspective way.
Subjects of Loneliness | Michael Garbutt
Workshop active April 15th
Explore loneliness and solitude through playful, mindful, embodied practices led by Michael Garbutt, author of Mindful Eye, Playful Eye: 101 Amazing Museum Activities for Discovery, Connection, and Insight (Smithsonian Books, 2024).
textures of loneliness exhibition
13th April – 25th June 2026
UNSW Health Translation Hub,
Ground Floor
textures of loneliness explores feelings and experiences of loneliness in different social settings, drawing on research and art from across the faculties of Arts, Design & Architecture, Medicine & Health, and Science.
Collaborators:
UNSW Health Translation Hub
Parking
UNSW Health Translation Hub (HTH) is best accessed via the Botany Street Carpark (Gate 11), which offers all-day, paid visitor parking. Other options include the Barker Street Carpark (Gate 14). Payment is required via the CellOPark app or pay-by-plate meters from 7:30am to 7:30pm on weekdays. The Botany St Car Park (Gate 11) parking station is located here. Kensington campus parking map is available here.
Public transport
UNSW HTH is easily accessible via public transport and the closest light rail stop is UNSW High Street (L2 line). There are also several bus services you can catch to from Central Station and the CBD. For more information, please call the transport info line on 131 500 or visit transportnsw.info.
For enquiries about the festival, please email: barc@unsw.edu.au.