Human connection is the future of travel. Airbnb host Chicago. Image: Airbnb.
‘Loneliness is actually a really big epidemic,’ Susan Wheeldon recently announced to a gathered audience of creative entrepreneurs and technologists, in Sydney. ‘The UK actually has just announced its first ever Minister for Loneliness,’ she continued.
Over COVID we heard a lot about the ability for arts and culture to keep people connected, despite lockdowns. Wheeldon, who is a Director at Airbnb, says our ‘neediness’ for connection, however, is not exclusive to a pandemic, and post-pandemic, psyche.
Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's Senior Contributor, after 12 years in the role as National Visual Arts Editor. She has worked for extended periods in America and Southeast Asia, as gallerist, arts administrator and regional contributing editor for a number of magazines, including Hong Kong based Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. She is an Art Tour leader for the AGNSW Members, and lectures regularly on the state of the arts. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW.
Instagram: fairleygina
