Biography

Annalisa Burello is an independent scholar, writer and cultural practitioner working at the intersection of art, spirituality, creativity and the human sciences. She holds a Laurea in Monetary and Financial Economics from Bocconi University, a BA in Photography from the University of Westminster, and an MSc in Social Anthropology — Religion in the Contemporary World from the London School of Economics.

Her research explores art as spiritual technology, with particular attention to how artistic and aesthetic practices participate in psychic transformation, affect regulation, meaning-making and contemporary forms of the sacred outside traditional religious frameworks. She has published peer-reviewed articles on art, spirituality and non-religious awakening experiences, and has presented her work at conferences and public events including the International Network for the Study of Spirituality, the Scientific and Medical Network, and the London Arts-Based Research Centre at the University of Oxford.

From 2022 to January 2026, she founded and co-chaired the Spirituality and the Arts Special Interest Group within INSS, developing and moderating public conversations with artists, scholars and practitioners. Her own visual practice includes The Seeker's Project, whose triptych Impermanence was selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2022.

Alongside her research and writing, Annalisa has supported artists, exhibitions and cultural institutions, reflecting her belief that the arts are not a cultural luxury but an essential field for transformation, public meaning and human flourishing. She is currently developing a book-length project on art as spiritual technology and is extending her enquiry into storytelling, screenwriting, documentary and AI-assisted moving image.

Annalisa continues to expand her knowledge through both academic research and practical creative training. In 2024, she completed a certification as a Holistic Integrated Creative Arts Therapy practitioner with the Soul School / HICAT, deepening her understanding of art as an expressive, relational and transformative process. In 2025 and 2026, she attended two short courses at NABA — Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan — in short filmmaking and AI for the creative industries. In September 2026, she will begin a Master in Scriptwriting for TV Series, marking a new phase in which her research into art, spirituality, creativity and transformation begins to move more explicitly into storytelling, film, documentary and the moving image.