Totems Of Hope: Your Brain On Philanthropy
Totems of Hope: Your Brain on Philanthropy is a UNESCO award-winning immersive experience exploring the relationship between technology, presence, and human connection through the act of giving.
Blending neurotechnology, sound, symbolic interaction, and participatory ritual, the experience invites participants into a trauma-informed, multisensory environment where generosity becomes something felt in the body rather than understood only intellectually. Through real-time adaptive sound and embodied interaction, participants are offered moments of reflection, regulation, and collective presence, while witnessing how shifts in attention and emotional state may emerge through brainwave-responsive systems.
Presented as part of Human+Tech Week, Totems of Hope positions technology not as spectacle, but as a mirror for awareness, empathy, and reconnection. The installation combines immersive art, neuroaesthetic design, and participatory social engagement to explore how future technologies might support more conscious, relational, and human-centred ways of being together.
This is a candlelight, shoeless, multisensory experience designed to support presence, grounding, and nervous system regulation through slowness, sensory awareness, and intentional participation. No food or beverages will be served or permitted within the space, in order to preserve the immersive atmosphere and minimise external stimulation.
Participants will enter in small groups of four people at a time, allowing for a more intimate, spacious, and attuned experience. This pacing supports co-regulation, personal agency, and the possibility for deeper engagement with the sensory and reflective elements of the installation.
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