Following months of prolonged stress and uncertainty throughout the pandemic and the pressure at Christmas to feel connected and joyous can make this an even lonelier time.

FEELINGS LIBRARY is a three week immersive pop up, designed to help us check in with our big, and sometimes messy feelings and connect with others within the creative space of a skip. 1 in 4 of us will experience mental health challenges in our lifetime, something that has been significantly impacted by the global pandemic. Challenges with our mental health can feel incredibly isolating but in reality it’s something so many of us experience.

FEELINGS LIBRARY creators are joining together to create a connective and immersive experience for the public to step inside to find connection and meaning in our shared experiences of being human.

The library will give people a chance to connect with their own feelings and those of others through Self Space guided journals, in a way that helps explore and celebrate the universality and complexity of our feelings. Visitors, including children, will have the opportunity to exchange emotions, offload their worries and share their inner thoughts.

FEELINGS LIBRARY will be constructed using reusable as well as natural and sustainable materials. All elements will take on a second life or decompose naturally.

With the uncertainty and upheaval of the pandemic it’s not surprising that many of us are feeling the emotional strain of life. As humans we are built to connect, with time in isolation we’ve grown apart and creating meaningful connections with others feels harder to cultivate. Finding ourselves in the stories of others brings us closer together and when we share even a fraction of our inner world we find the intimacy we all need to feel seen and heard. The Feelings Library, guided by our Self Space therapists is a chance to bring all of this together, creatively and disruptively to help us all feel less lonely and at a time of year when this can be an overwhelming feeling for so many.

- Jodie Cariss, therapist and founder of Self Space.