Shez Cairney
About
I’m a wellbeing innovator, cultural neuroscientist and experiential artist working at the intersection of science, Indigenous wisdom and creative practice.
For nearly 30 years, I’ve worked alongside Aboriginal communities to explore brain and behavioural health, cultural strength and holistic wellbeing. My work spans research, co-designed tools, immersive storytelling and systems change — always grounded in long-term relationships and real-world impact.
Through The Interplay Project, I bring together stories and numbers, lived experience and evidence, to create new ways of understanding and supporting wellbeing across health, education and community systems.
Alongside this work, my creative practice is deeply connected to place.
For many years I have travelled solo through Australian landscapes — moving across Country, often far from towns and people. In these spaces, nature reveals a kind of clarity and quiet wisdom that connects us more deeply with ourselves and the world around us.
My work explores the spirit of the land — through pattern, colour, movement and story — and how these experiences shape how we see, feel and understand.
Across research, creative practice and collaboration, my work is an ongoing exploration of connection — between people, place, knowledge systems and ways of knowing.
My work includes 60+ peer-reviewed publications, $30M+ in research and collaborations, and presentations across community, policy and international platforms.