EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS

MA Feminism Theory & Criticism of the Visual Arts.
University of Leeds. 1995– 1997.
Studied feminist cultural theory from a psychoanalytical perspective.
BA (Hons) History of Art & Design.
Staffordshire University.1992– 1995.
Studied the history of art and design from 1750 - to the present day. I specialised in the theory of 19th and 20th century painting.
BTEC Foundation Art & Design.
University of Salford. 1988–1989.
Practical course in the visual arts. Studied drawing, etching, printing, painting, photography. How to stretch canvas's and to make frames.

EXHIBITIONS/ EXPERIENCE

I have been an exhibiting artist since 1990 and have had numerous exhibitions, both solo and in groups at a variety of sites and locations:

Open Competition, Stockport Art Gallery, Stockport .(2001).
Art Work No.57 (with Jane Forster), Marks & Spencer’s, Manchester. (1999). Welcome To The World, Bankley Studios, Manchester. (1999).
Welcome To The World, Women’s EVH, Manchester. (1999).
Welcome To The World, Wexford Arts Centre,Wexford. Ireland. (1999).
Welcome To The World, Foxford Arts Centre, Co Mayo. Ireland. (1998).
Welcome To The World, The Pankhurst Centre, Manchester. (1998).
Welcome To The World, The Trendy Café, Bristol. (1998).
Welcome To The World, Art Link Exchange & The Warren, Hull. (1998).
Company Of Strangers, Leeds Metropolitan University Gallery, Leeds. (1997).
Creatin Wimmin, The Pankhurst Centre, Manchester. (1997).
Welcome To The World, LBT Theatre, Huddersfield. (1997).
Solo Show,(solo), The Pankhurst Centre, Manchester. (1996).
Recent Paintings,(solo), Cornerhouse Café, Manchester. (1996).
The Drawing Pool, Manto’s Café Bar, Manchester. (1995).
Look Back In Anger, Coventry Gallery, London. (1994 .
And Then Again, (solo), Manto’s Café Bar, Manchester. (1994).
The Drawing Pool, Gorton Library, Manchester. (1993).
International Women’s’ Exhibition, The Pankhurst Centre, Manchester. (1993).
Recent Work,(solo), The Pankhurst Centre, Manchester. (1992).
Me Again,(solo), The GreenRoom, Manchester. (1992).
Kaleidoscopes, (solo), The GreenRoom, Manchester. (1991).
The Drawing Pool, The Pankhurst Centre, Manchester. (1991).
Not In His Image, Viewpoint Gallery, Salford (1990).

As well as making and selling work I have successfully organised exhibitions and co – founded several art groups
Colour Vultures 1998- 1999
Welcome To The World 1996- 1999
Leeds Feminist Arts Collective 1995-1997
The Drawing Pool 1991-1995
Not In His Image 1989-1991

I was also co-ordinator for Welcome To The World, we were funded by the National Lottery. Between 1998-99 I successfully organised several exhibitions that toured England and Southern Ireland.

Community Artist

From 1998 to 2001 I was both a community artist and an art consultation. I successfully lead several art projects and organised and ran numerous art workshops with people from 8 to 72. I used painting, drawing, collage, plaster cast, photography, words, theatre and cartoons. The art projects were diverse; these included several Youth Action Consultation Health Projects and various Urban Regeneration Projects such as;

(Edited)
Asian Health Development Project. Ashton- Under- Lyne. Art Consultant/Project Leader. Worked with a variety of young people from 8 to 19, both in the community centre and in local primary schools, using drama, art to talk about mental and emotional health. Devised an anti smoking play with the Young Men’s Group that was presented at a NHS conference in London.

Act Like A Man. Manchester. Art Consultant. Worked with a young men’s group exploring the issues and stress of being a young man in a peer support project as part of the CALM project, using creative writing and collage.

Connect 4 Health project. Ashton- Under-Lyne.Art Consultant/Project Leader.
Writing project with Bangladeshi Women, explored their experiences of coming over to England.

The Great Thing About Getting Older. Ashton- Under-Lyne. Facilitator.
Worked with an older women’s group using photography and writing to produce an exhibition in Marks and Spencer’s shop window as part of a wider community project.

Murals. - Commissioned to produce a mural for a children’s school in Oldham.
- Facilitated Royton Young Peoples Group to produce a mural about crime.
- Facilitated Greenfield Young Peoples Group to produce a mural about drug awareness.

Oxford Park Project. Ashton- Under- Lyne .Facilitator.
Worked with older people who had long term mental health problems on a regeneration project using mosaic.

Under Pass Project. Burnley. Facilitator.
Worked with ex offenders who had drug and alcohol abuse problems to design and make a mosaic. Also on the same project worked with older women using writing.

All the projects were funded by various public bodies including SRB and NHS.