Nostos Salon

About

Nostos is an intimate afternoon salon series by Anthrōprospective at Smith Street Studio in Collingwood, inner Melbourne. Inspired by the ancient Greek concept of nostos [νόστος]—a longing to return home, this gathering invites us back: to community, to place, to self, and to one another. In a time of disconnection, Nostos is a return to slow, thoughtful conversation and community.

How do I get to Smith Street Studio?

The entrance to the studio is off Little Oxford St, Collingwood – via a small lane between 77 and 79 Little Oxford. Head up the end of the lane and you will find the studio on the far left directly next door to Studio Pancho.

Theme: The Anthropology of Ambiguity, Uncertainty, and Meaning-Making

Our Nostos gathering on Sunday, August 30 will explore the anthropology of ambiguity, uncertainty, and meaning-making, examining how people live, decide, and find equilibrium in a world that rarely offers clear answers. In an era marked by contested truths, competing belief systems, and growing anxiety about what counts as certain knowledge, this conversation invites us to reflect on ambiguity not as a problem to be solved, but as a condition we all move through, and sometimes a resource we can draw on.

Through the lens of anthropology we'll explore how communities navigate liminality, paradox, and uncertainty in their everyday lives, and how healing, belief, and ritual offer ways of holding what cannot be fully resolved. How do people act meaningfully when the ground beneath…