Identity Lab

Exploring who we are through contemporary art

Identity Lab is an immersive creative experience that invites university students to explore identity through contemporary art.

By means of guided artistic processes, participants examine personal stories, cultural influences, memories, values and experiences, and many visible and invisible layers that shape who we are.

The program creates a safe space for curiosity, self-expression and connection. Rather than asking students simply to talk about identity, Identity Lab offers them creative ways to investigate it, make it visible and see both themselves and one another from new perspectives.

At its heart, Identity Lab asks a simple but powerful question:

Who are we — and what makes us who we are?

1. Program Vision

Identity Lab reimagines the university as not only a place for academic learning, but also a place where students can explore identity, belonging, creativity and human connection.

University is a formative period in which young people encounter new cultures, ideas, relationships and possibilities. It is also the time when many experience inner turmoil and raise questions of identity: Where do I belong? What do I value? Where do I come from? Who am I becoming? What’s next?

Identity Lab uses contemporary art as a language through which these questions can be explored openly and amiably.

The vision is to create university environments where students feel encouraged to explore themselves, understand others and participate in the life of their community.

2. Why it matters

Today’s university experience extends far beyond academic achievements. Students are navigating increasingly diverse communities, exploring identities, social pressures and the demands of study, work and adult life.

Australian research into university student wellbeing highlights the importance of the educational environment, belonging and the experiences of students from diverse backgrounds. (Centre for the Study of Higher Education)

Belonging matters. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis found a positive relationship between university belonging and both student wellbeing and academic outcomes. (Springer)

Yet belonging cannot simply be instructed or delivered. It is developed through meaningful experiences of participation, recognition and connection.

This is where art can play a distinctive role.

Creative practice offers students an alternative way of communication – particularly when experiences, memories or questions of identity are difficult to express through conventional discussion. Research into arts-based university programs has found potential for strengthening creative expression, social connection and wellbeing. (DOI)

Identity Lab creates the conditions for students to pause, reflect, create and connect.

It is not art therapy and it does not require participants to have any artistic skills or experience. It is a facilitated creative and educational experience brought to encourage reflection, self-exploration, dialogue and connection.

3. Program objectives

Identity Lab aims to:

encourage students to explore and articulate different dimensions of their identity;
create opportunities for open self-expression through contemporary art;
strengthen students’ sense of inclusion, belonging and connection to others;
encourage curiosity about different cultures, experiences and backgrounds;
develop creative thinking and experimentation;
create opportunities for students to discover common ground across diversity;
encourage empathy, cooperation, openness and respectful dialogue;
contribute to a more connected and inclusive university culture;
demonstrate how creativity can become a practical tool for personal and social development.

The program is designed not to shape or define identity for students, but to give a space and creative tool to investigate it for themselves.

4. Who it is for

Identity Lab can be delivered to a wide range of university communities, including:

Students

Undergraduate and postgraduate students seeking meaningful creative, social and personal experiences beyond the classroom.

First-year students

A particularly valuable experience during the transition into university, helping students establish connections and begin to feel part of their new environment.

International and culturally diverse students

Creating opportunities to explore cultural identity, migration, belonging and the experience of living at the intersection of different worlds.

Student societies and communities

A creative process that can bring students together around shared activities and themes while allowing individual voices to remain heard.

Academic cohorts

An innovative addition to orientation, curriculum enrichment, leadership skills development or interdisciplinary learning.

Student leadership programs

Using identity, challenge-taking and creative collaboration our program develops conscious, reflective and socially aware emerging leaders.

Identity Lab can also be adapted for particular faculties, disciplines, cohorts or other university led initiatives.

5. Program structure

Identity Lab is tailored to the needs, priorities and student experience objectives of each university program. The format, duration, creative processes, themes, group size and outcomes can be worked out around the specific audience and context.

Examples of the executed program formats are available on request.

6. Expected outcomes

For a student as a person

Identity Lab encourages students to develop a stronger awareness of themselves and their potential through a creative lens.

Participants may develop:

greater self-awareness and confidence in self-expression;
new ways of understanding personal capabilities and identity;
creative thinking and drive to experiment;
stronger interpersonal connection and inclusion in educational process;
greater curiosity about difference and diversity;
stronger sense of belonging and resilience.

The intention is not to give a particular answer about identity, but to help students become more comfortable asking questions about themselves and the world around them.

For university as an institution

Identity Lab can contribute to the university’s student-experience strategy by creating a distinctive form of engagement that connects indentity, wellbeing, belonging, inclusion and creativity.

It can support universities in:

strengthening student engagement beyond the classroom;
creating exciting opportunities for participation;
supporting transition and belonging;
enriching student experience initiatives;
connecting different student communities;
demonstrating a commitment to personal development;
creating visible and memorable cultural experiences on campus.

This is particularly relevant as Australian universities continue to examine the conditions that shape student wellbeing, engagement and belonging. (Centre for the Study of Higher Education)

For the community by strengthening connection

A university is a community made up of people with different lived experiences, cultures, identities and perspectives.

Identity Lab creates opportunities for those differences to become a source of curiosity and exploration rather than separation.

By making, sharing and discussing creative work together, students explore new grounds beyond their own self and discover points of connection. In this way, art becomes a social tool helping people see one another not simply as classmates or members of different groups, but as individuals with unique stories and shared human experiences.

Research on arts-based university initiatives similarly points to the value of creative shared experiences in fostering social connection and belonging. (DOI)

For the state by developing motivated and resilient citizens

Universities play a role in preparing people not only for employment, but for participation in society.

Students who develop self-awareness, creativity, empathy, openness and the ability to engage constructively within diverse groups carry these capabilities beyond campus into workplaces, families, communities and civil life.

Identity Lab contributes to this broader ambition by treating creativity as capability of success , not simply an artistic skill.

In a long-term vision we forsee a generation of Australians who are more confident in who they are, more curious about others, more capable of navigating diversity and more willing to contribute positively to the communities around them.

7. Partnership opportunities

Identity Lab can be developed in partnership with university teams across the institution.

Potential partnerships include:

Student Experience & Engagement

Programs that strengthen connection, participation and belonging across campus.

Student Wellbeing

Creative experiences that complement existing resilience, wellbeing and self-expression.

Diversity & Inclusion

Programs exploring culture, identity, difference and belonging.

International Student Programs

Creative experiences that help international students build relationships and participate in university life.

Orientation & Transition Programs

Identity Lab can provide an engaging creative experience for students entering a new stage of life.

Academic Faculties & Schools

Tailored programs connecting contemporary art with particular disciplines, themes or learning outcomes.

Leadership & Employability Programs

Creative approaches to self-awareness, problem-solving, collaboration and leadership development.

Research Partnerships

Opportunities to evaluate the program’s impact on student experience, belonging, creativity and community connection.

Universities can also commission bespoke Identity Lab programs around a particular theme, campus initiative, student cohort or institutional priority.

8. Bring Identity Lab to your university

What happens when students are given the space to explore who they are and to see others from a different perspective?

Identity Lab turns that question into a creative experience.

Whether developed as a one-off campus experience, a student engagement initiative, an orientation program, a multi-session series or a university partnership, Identity Lab can be shaped around your community and objectives.

Let’s bring Identity Lab to your university.

Examples of the executed programs are available on request.