As someone with multiple talents and multiple passions, writing a neat, concise biography is never an easy task. My skills and current interests span several creative fields - art, design, writing - and I am interested in using these skills to create meaningful experiences and positive change.
Originally from rural Aberdeenshire in NE Scotland, I studied undergraduate degrees in Music and Art and Design, at the Royal Academy of Music and Gray's School of Art respectively. I also hold an MA in Reconciliation and Peacebuilding from the University of Winchester. I have worked as a musician and a music educator for Sistema Scotland in the UK, and the Edward Said National Conservatory in the Palestinian Territories.
I have also set up and run my own art and design business, creating and selling products online and through independent retailers. I am currently drawing on this experience in my role as a trustee for UK/Bosnian peacebuilding charity Most Mira, developing creative social enterprises in northern Bosnia.
As an artist, I have exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions (full list below). These have included the exhibition and accompanying book 'Pieces From A Broken Land' exploring my experiences of living and working in the Palestinian Territories. The accompanying book was my first, and I have since published my second book - a short memoir of a disastrous attempt to single-handedly save nomadic culture in the Negev desert.
I have also worked in a variety of educational and community contexts including work with The Arts Factory, Open Road, and schools projects with Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums and SPINE Festival. Alongside my creative work, I teach Art and Design at secondary school level.
Exhibitions:
Winton Society Summer Exhibition - West Downs Gallery, Winchester 2023
Aberdeen Artist Society - Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen 2022
Long Division - Bosnian Embassy, London 2022
No Place Like Home - Footdee Community Hall, Aberdeen 2022
Khamsin - Online 2021
Identity - The Holy Art, London/Online 2021
Winter Showcase - Arts Depot, London 2020
Illustrating Anthropology - Royal Anthropological Society, London/Online 2020
10 x 10 - Junction Arts, Aberdeen 2018
Pieces From A Broken Land - Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh 2018
Pieces From A Broken Land - Aberdeen Arts Centre, Aberdeen 2017
I Am Woman - Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh 2013
Fabricate - Studio One, Edinburgh 2012