Nerves speak, too: crosstalk in the gut-brain axis
About the workshop
How do the gut and brain speak? Nerves continually communicate between gut and brain. They are the ‘crossroads’ of human bodies. But how does this feel?
This arts-science hands-on workshop - led by medical artist Emily Fong and medical humanities researchers Dr Paige Donaghy and Dr Jacinthe Flore - will engage a public audience in imagining how the gut and the brain chatter through nerves, sensations, and emotions.
Through serious play with a range of materials and modalities, the audience will explore embodied moods, experiences, and the mystery of bodies beyond medicalisation, as a community.
18+ participants only.
What to expect:
A three-hour hands-on arts-science workshop using creative play, materials and collaborative body mapping.
This workshop is part of a series, held over two separate dates and please note that the second session is a repeat - follow the below link for information on the other session.
Nerves speak, too: crosstalk in the gut-brain axis - 12 November
Being Human 2026
This project was produced in collaboration with the 2026 Being Human Festival. Founded in the UK as the only national festival of the humanities, Being Human is now a global celebration dedicated to demonstrating the breadth, diversity and vitality of the humanities.
About your hosts
Dr Paige Donaghy
Dr Paige Donaghy is a historian and medical humanities scholar and McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Melbourne. She researches the history and cultures of reproductive medicine, including pregnancy, birth, and gender.
Dr Jacinthe Flore
Dr Jacinthe Flore is a medical humanities scholar and lecturer in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Melbourne. Her work explores how people make sense of embodiment in mental health experiences.
Emily Fong
Emily Fong is a medical artist exploring life and death, embodiment and emotion; the experience of existing in a human container. Her artistic practice is underpinned by the observation and communication of the life cycles of living things; growth, mortality and change from the micro to the macro. She has worked in the UK, France, and Australia.
Further information
Image: Apple Brain or Fruiting Body
Collage, Emily Fong, 2026. Image courtesy of the artist.
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