The Big Anxiety – People – Arts

Australia’s mental health & arts festival – QLD 2022

Brisbane QUT 26-27 May 2022

Designed for anyone interested in arts, mental health, trauma, suicide prevention and general wellbeing from a lived experience, creative or professional point of view.

The Big Anxiety Open Day

Sat 28 May 2022

Brisbane QUT Gardens Point Theatre – Free

Awkward Conversations, Edge of the Present, Body Mapping, Immersive VR

What I know now that can change the world

Wed 25 May 2022

Brisbane QUT Gardens Point Theatre Foyer – 1-4pm. Free

Bringing the insights of older age into virtual reality

Gold Coast HOTA

Edge of the Present – Thu 17 Feb – Thu 24 Feb 2022

Warwick Art Gallery

Edge of the Present – Thu 7 April – Sat 7 May 2022

The Big Reach – Thu 7 & Fri 8 April

Edge of the Present

A ‘mixed reality’ environment designed to cultivate future thinking.

Brisbane, Gold Coast, Warwick

Awkward Conversations

One-on-one conversations in experimental formats.

Brisbane

Embodimap

Virtual Reality that enables users to connect with emotions in the body.

Brisbane

Hard Place/Good Place

A creative audit of lived experience in the 2020s using Augmented Reality [AR]

Brisbane

2019 Videos

Festival Highlights

The Empathy Clinic

These Walls Could Talk

News

Course of Empathy App

Test the idea that empathy skills are tools, that can be cultivated by anyone.

The Big Anxiety Feedback Survey

We would like to hear about your experience of our events!

2019 Highlights

Uti Kulintjaku

The Empathy Clinic

The Ageing Program

The Razz - Sandra Pankhurst

Edge of the Present

Nosferatu - Javier Tellez

thom roberts

Debra Keenahan

r e a & Judy Atkinson

Ilawanti Ungkutjuru Ken and Naomi Kantjuriny

Wart & Phil Downing

2019

The S-Word with Lifeline

Daughters

Anxiety, Culture and The Future Conference

Art After Hours

Nathan Filer

These Walls Could Talk

Daniel Regan

John A Douglas & Stella Topaz

M A N I C

Awkward Conversations

2019 Ambassadors

John A Douglas

Sonakshi Babbar

Sandra Pankhurst

Will Centurian

Nat's What I Reckon

Evelyn Araluen

Honor Eastly

Omar Sakr

Ambassador Bios

Feedback Survey and e-Visitor Book

Feedback Survey

E-Visitor Book

Program Extras

Interior Anxious Poem by Evelyn Araluen

The Big Anxiety Podcast Series

The Parragirls immersive experience at the Big Anxiety EPICentre was a moving and thought-provoking presentation of the terrible abuse perpetrated against children at the Parramatta Girls Home. Vulnerable children who were the victims of abuse were further abused when they complained or disclosed their treatment. I hope that the telling of... Tanya Plibersek MP

Really interesting looking festival... will you be pulling this off again in 2018? If so, please post potential dates for us folks as far away as San Francisco. Also, I'd like to instigate a "free to fail" play zone, spanning the huge spectrum of play. Looking forward to hearing... Nicole

Wonderful, challenging, inspiring, soothing, confronting, all at the same time. A very important subject and a great forum in the arts to start important discussions. Providing a creative forum for issues that affect everyone. Thank you! Nicole Balestro

Wonderful exhibitions thank you - especially the sensory exhibit Matthew Arnold-Hall

The snoosphere is AMAZING!!! Natasha

We visited Sydney this last weekend (27-29 October) from Brisbane, specifically to experience various events at the Big Anxiety festival. Wow we had such a eye opening, stimulating experience. The play Grace under Pressure (Seymour Centre) was brilliant and a very real insight into the health sector (although many of... debbie broadbent & peter ferreira

We love this idea and program. Thank you great for my daughters anxiety the breathing lungs in soosophere Nicole

Ultimately, a dilemma that I'm passionate about. I have looked for data of this caliber for the previous various hours. Your internet site is greatly appreciated. eegabgabfeeabeab Smithb881

as teaching art and the creative loses it value in public secondary schools and very few well being programs are thoroughly implemented it is good to see events like this take place. thanks Mary

Thank you for sharing your stories. I am sorry you had those horrible experiences. Rachel