Reconnecting through touch: participant experiences of audio-recorded sensory engagement

Touch is an important aspect of human experience, linked to emotional and social connection. In contexts of physical distancing, isolation, or sensory sensitivities, alternative ways of engaging with touch must be considered. This article explores participants’ experiences during the outdoor sensory performance ‘Until We Meet,’ which used guided audio-recordings to remotely engage participants with their sense of touch and connection. The project took place in a public park and involved 22 participants who engaged with touch-focussedaudio-recordings. Participants’ responses were gathered through feedback forms and creative contributions to an accompanying installation. A thematic analysis was applied to interpret the qualitative data. The insights revealed that participants experienced non-physical forms of touch, including self-touch, imagined touch, and emotional touch, despite physical separation and these enhanced their body awareness and supported feelings of social connection despite physical separation. The insights suggest that touch-focused audio-recordings may serve as a low-barrier way to support sensory well-being, especially for individuals with limited access to physical touch. Future work will prioritise enhancing accessibility and co-creating audio-recordings with specific populations to ensure they are more closely tailored to participants’ needs.