Gail Kenning

Dr Gail Kenning is a Senior Research Fellow at the fEEL (felt Experience and Empathy Lab) and Big Anxiety Research Centre at UNSW Sydney. She collaborates with Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), Cardiff Metropolitan University, Eindhoven University, and University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Her work bridges art, design, technology, and psychosocial research to address mental health, trauma, dementia, and aging through immersive media, co-design, and sensory engagement.

Her research interests span psychosocial design, human-computer interaction, participatory art, and creative methodologies for dementia and aging populations. She pioneered early social robots for dementia care and co-developed programs like Art and Dementia with the Art Gallery of NSW and PAUSE for palliative care carers.

Recent projects include World Comes Alive (2025) and EmbodiMap, focusing on immersive media and affective engagement. Her work has been funded by Australian Research Council (ARC), Ageing Futures Institute, and AEA Ignite grants, with trials at institutions like War Memorial Hospital.

Dr Kenning serves as Secretary of the Arts Health Network NSW and ACT and has over 100 publications in psychosocial design, co-creation, and arts-based evaluation methodologies.