Workshop
SG – Alone Together
Tonight, we explore our experiences of loneliness together in an engaging contemplative dialogue. What does it mean to us? How do we value it?
About Alone Together
What does loneliness mean to you? How do you value it? What do you think of lonely people? Feeling alone has this paradoxical feature of being shared by many. So let us put it on the table! In this interactive workshop, we turn to an old Jesuit tradition: the contemplative dialogue, tailored to converse together about topics that are both very huge and very intimate. Under the experienced guidance of Evanne Nowak, we will process the insights of this lecture series, and investigate together what our loneliness means to us. The input and questions you and the other participants share, will shape the dialogue and its direction. In a safe and encouraging environment, ponder this deeply rooted topic together.
About series ‘Loneliness: Living Apart Together’
You're no exception if you have felt lonelier than ever, during the past months of lockdown. But what exactly is this loneliness we are talking about? After all, skin contact or being in the same room are no guarantee to feel connected, and social isolation is not the same as loneliness. Think of passionate love letters or making friends in an online game community. Also, one can truly enjoy spending time on one’s own without being lonely. Conversely, one can feel very excluded in a group of friends one belongs to, abandoned by the community one is part of, lost in a crowd, or in bed with someone. So what is loneliness? Is it one and the same experience? Is it the same to you, as it is to your friend or your fellow student? And to what extent is it shaped by cultural and social ideas and the stories we tell about loneliness and lonely people?
About Evanne Nowak
Evanne Nowak works as freelance program designer, curator and moderator at the crossroads of philosophy, ecological studies, art and justice. She studied Theatre in Education (BA) at the School of Fine Arts Utrecht and Theatre & Global Development (MA) at the University of Leeds. In 2016 she graduated from the University of Humanistic Studies with a study on apathia and climate change. In her thesis, she explored emerging ideas on climate psychology and meaning making. These explorations continue to inspire her writing, lecturing and program making. She creates engaging in-depth workshops and festivals intended at a broad audience both within and outside the cultural sector. Some of her projects include Remembrance Days for Lost Species for ARTIS Zoo and the International Philosophy Festival Thinking Planet. As a moderator, she interviewed, amongst others, the Dutch Princess Irene and philosophers Donna Haraway and Bruno Latour. She gives lectures and workshops on ecology, emotions and meaning making. She particularly enjoys facilitating contemplative dialogues, and does so on a broad range of topics: racism in the workplace, the meaning of sustainability, feelings of loss in the light of climate change, hope and despair and, as exemplified tonight, loneliness.