Hello

I am a community artist and organiser with a wide ranging practice which is grounded in over fifteen years of learning as a permaculture designer and regenerative practitioner.

I have particular interest in the way that an open, creative, inclusive process can take inspiration from the natural world that we are part of to encourage the development of ecosystems where all life can flourish.

My work bridges and unites a range of different disciplines and creates communal discourses, often between strangers in public spaces. It is motivated by a desire to better understand the way that culture, art and imagination can create new ways of doing things, and help us envisage alternative futures.

Panel 1

About Me

My creative practice is grounded in theatre and performance. I undertook professional training at Contact Theatre through their Young Directors’ programme, and at Middlesex University, RESAD Madrid, and GITIS Moscow. From this starting point I began a creative journey which has now lasted for more than twenty years.

In 2017 I established a local community group working to maintain and improve 120 acres of meadows and woodland at the point where the River Roch and River Irwell converge in Bury, North Manchester. In 2023 the site became a local nature reserve – the first to be declared in Bury for over 20 years.

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My Work

Present:

Past:

  • In 2022 I launched the UK’s first Full Permaculture Design Course specifically focused on artists and creatives.
  • I was Community and Education Director for The Library Theatre Company for over a decade developing and delivering innovative and impactful community engagement work across the City of Manchester, and creating unique performance work with young people through The Norfox Young People’s Theatre Company.
  • I was one of the founding members of the Age Friendly Culture programme in Manchester. This is an internationally recognised programme of work which was a key part in Manchester’s successful application to join the World Health Organisation’s Age Friendly City Network. In 2010 they were the first city in the UK to achieve this recognition, as well as being one of the first cities globally. And in 2018 they became the UK’s first Age Friendly city region. The culture progamme was, and still is, integral to this programme of work.
  • I ran The Storybox Project for 12 years – a ground breaking creative project which uses stories and imagination as a starting point to engage, enliven and empower people living with a dementia.