Daria Melnikova and Anna Tsedik - Sensitivity to Otherness. Orchestra of Touch p2p

In a world increasingly marked by disconnection—between people, communities, and the natural world — “Sensitivity to Otherness” offers a counter-space: one of reconnection, through sound, movement, and collective presence. This participatory project invites audiences to engage in a series of performative and musical encounters designed to deepen our capacity for empathy—towards others, ourselves, and the more-than-human world.

At its core, this initiative explores empathy not only as a human emotion but as a vital relational force. Through workshop and immersive experiences, participants are guided to rediscover how connection can be felt, heard, and moved through the body. Practices of embodied empathy, sensory engagement, and improvisation unfold alongside experimental soundscapes, generating a space where interaction with both human and non-human elements becomes possible and palpable.

The culminating event—a hybrid of performance, musical improvisation, and collective celebration—blurs the boundaries between performer and audience, individual and collective, subject and environment. Through the “Orchestra of Touch,” participants become instruments themselves, generating music through skin-to-skin contact mediated by Playtronica technology. In this ritual of co-creation, human intimacy becomes audible, making visible the invisible threads of connection that bind us.

Drawing on embodied art practice, and research from sustainability science and neurodiversity movement the project challenges us to reimagine empathy as more than sentiment: as an embodied, shared practice that begins with presence and unfolds into responsibility. “Sensitivity to Otherness” is not only a space for expression, but also a rehearsal for a more interconnected way of being.

Daria Melnikova is currently pursuing her master’s in Culture Studies at Leuphana University. She has a strong background in performance and contemporary art, having previously worked as a performer. Her artistic interests lie at the intersection of movement and music, and she is also active as a DJ and musician. Daria is exploring ways to connect her creative practice with cultural theory, seeking new forms of expression that bridge embodied experience and sonic experimentation.

Anna Tsedik is doing her master’s degree in Sustainability Science at Leuphana University. With a background in performance art, she has participated in and created artworks at the intersection of dance, music, and theatre. During her bachelor’s studies at University College Freiburg, she initiated, co-designed, and co-taught a course about the neurodiversity perspective on disability studies. She is exploring ways to integrate her interests in sustainability science, the neurodiversity movement, and art.