The Flow Project
Building inclusive futures through the senses: exploring creative flow-state & ecological connection
Supported by Horizon Europe as part of VOICE EU: Valorising art-led practice & innovation
The Flow Project is an immersive, arts-led research project exploring how flow-state, nature and spatial sound can deepen ecological connection and sensory inclusion. Through field-recording in endangered ecosystems and improvisational jam sessions inside a 360° spatial audio rig, the project investigates how sensory immersion and collective flow may nudge environmental awareness and wellbeing.
The work operates across two interconnected environments:
1. Flow in nature — deep listening, sensory noticing, flow-writing, and field recording in at-risk landscapes.
2. Flow in non-natural spaces — a multisensory spatial sound rig acting as a surrogate ecological environment, enabling collective improvisation and sensory participation indoors.
Drawing from Flow-State Theory (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) and Nudge Theory (Thaler & Sunstein, 2009), the methodology integrates behavioural design, permaculture praxis, sensory noticing and more-than-human listening Flow Project Final Presentation. The project also engages neurodivergent perspectives on flow, exploring how ADHD and sensory cognition shape creative absorption and environmental attunement.
Community testing involved musicians, neurodivergent creatives, researchers, rural residents and festival-goers, generating insights into inclusion, sensory safety, time perception, collaboration and ecological imagination.
Format: Practice-led Research Project
Role: Lead Researcher & Composer
Research Question: Can spatial audio + improvisation + nature sound support ecological awareness via flow-state?
Methods: Flow-State Theory, Nudge Theory, Permaculture Praxis, Deep Listening, Field Recording, Spatial Audio Rig, Improvised Music, Neurodivergent Attention
Outputs: Research Presentation, Field Recordings, Spatial Audio Experiments, Community Data
Partners/Funders: Horizon Europe (VOICE EU #101135803), Brunel University, Hypha Studios, Basket of Light, Nubia Labs, Medway Collective
Themes: Flow State, Ecological Awareness, ADHD, Sensory Cognition, More-than-Human, Immersive Sound, Behavioural Design
Year: 2025-2026
