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Listening Lab

Exploring language, meaning and experience through music

The Listening Lab was our starting point. It focused on something that often sits beneath collaboration but can be difficult to navigate: the different ways we understand and talk about mental health.

Over a two day workshop, young people, researchers and artists came together to explore key terms like loneliness, resilience, wellbeing and stigma through music and sound.

Rather than defining these words in a traditional way, participants created soundscapes, songs and performances that expressed what these ideas felt like in their own lives. This created a shared understanding rooted in emotion, creativity and lived experience.

Music helped bridge communication gaps between participants, creating space for empathy, connection and honest reflection. It also prompted important questions such as:
Do you mean what I mean?
Do you value what I value?

The Listening Lab shaped one of CREATE’s key outputs: 'Do You Mean What I Mean' a shared understanding of concepts, values and language across youth, arts and science perspectives.

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To see some of the final performances from the first Living Lab weekend by clicking on the below links