I am an experienced public speaker and conference chair.
During my twenty-year tenure as Artistic Director of Hearts & Minds I have delivered many presentations at conferences as well as training workshops for artists across the UK, Europe and Canada.
A list of recent presentations, provocations and moderating/chairing events, includes:
2023
Smile Theatre & Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts, Canada: Arts & Dementia – Creative Approaches to Engaging Audiences Living With Dementia
Klokkeklovnene, Norway: Fordi jeg er noen – Because I am Human; Seminar & Panel discussion
Online Clown-versation with Barnaby King
Health Care Clowning International Meeting (HCIM), The Hague, Holland: ‘ Strengthening our Connections in Challenging Times’ – Chair Plenary Session; ‘Dementia and Human Flourishing’; How does creativity, humour and clowning contribute to human flourishing and dementia? – Panel Member
2022
Time to Dance, China, seminar by invitation of Scottish Ballet (online): On Equal Footing – Co-creating performances with people living with dementia
Prince and Princes of Wales Hospice, Glasgow: Creativity in Care, Resilience and Wellbeing
Sairaalaklovnit, Finnish Hospital Clowns Association (online): Clowning and Dementia – presentation and workshop
2021
Red Nose International (RNI): Facebook live (online) – How clowning improves the lives of dementia patients
NAFHCO (North American Federation of Healthcare Organisations) Conference, Dallas, USA (Online): Teaching clowns to engage with people living with dementia
2020
Klokkeklovnene´s International Online Festival: Clowning for people living with dementia – covid realities, future developments and why clowning works
Memory Bridge, USA (Online) – Bridges around the World
2019
Dance for Parkinson’s Symposium ‘Looking Ahead’, Sadler’s Wells, London, UK; Provocateur and moderator
2018
ITAC4 (International Teaching Artist Conference), New York, USA – Curious Shoes: A Collaborative Performance Approach for People Living with Dementia
Holyrood Events, Edinburgh:Using the Arts in Health and Social Care; Chair of the event and presentation –Curious Shoes, a creative approach to engaging with people living with dementia
Health Care Clowning International Meeting (HCIM), Vienna: Beyond Memory – Humour, Creativity and Dementia; Chair Opening Plenary Session
West Yorkshire Playhouse: Symposium on art and dementia as part of Every Third Minute Festival – Curious Shoes, collaborative performances for people living with dementia
2017
Culture, Health and Wellbeing International Conference in Bristol, June 2017: Curious Shoes – a new performance approach for people living with dementia
2016
Health Care Clowning International Meeting (HCIM), Lisbon: Having the last laugh – Clowning and Dementia
2015
Alzheimer Europe Conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, September 2015: The Power of Theatre – creating bespoke performances for an audience with dementia
European Cultural Parliament, Girona, Spain: Creativity and wellbeing in Europe
Alzheimer Scotland Conference, Glasgow: Arts & Dementia
Previous presentations also include:
Artscare, Belfast; Creative Scotland; Dementia Services Development Centre, University Stirling; Luminate, Creative Aging Festival, Scotland; Napier University; The Palliative Care Congress; Scottish Care Conference; Glasgow; Sonas Conference, Dublin.