O Solitude, by Henry Purcell, sings the praises of being alone: my sweetest choice. In our epoymous new focus programme, we are not only looking at the conscious choice to be alone, but also at the darker sides of solitude: the sense of loneliness that can be so overwhelming.

We investigate the many facets of being alone, from what it is like to be the only one left in an abandoned village, to being single in today’s society, from the insignificant individual in the face of the gigantic machine, to the isolation inherent in failure of any kind. What does solitude mean in a society that is bursting at the seams with interconnectivity?

In performances, films, video works, an exhibition, a concert series and several winks of the eye to being alone, we attempt to understand what the concept of solitude can mean, and try to answer the question of what makes us so lonely in our time.