Anna Fancett (She/her)
When people are struggling or isolated, one of their first impulses is to listen to and tell stories. It is through stories that we understand the society that surrounds us, especially when it is one that seems strange and unfamiliar. And it is through stories that we can express ourselves – our fears, our anxieties, and our hopes. Anna has been facilitating the listening to and sharing of stories for over a decade as both a storyteller and educator, and her personal experience of living overseas gives her some understanding of how confusing a new culture can be.
Website: www.uponmyword.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/UponmyWordUK/
Anna Weir Shirron (She/her)
Anna is a Visual Artist living and working in Aberdeen working mainly within the fields of paper cutting and painting.
Her work concerns itself with pattern and detail, looking at the idea of ‘beauty’ and ‘ugly’ – using materials, patterns and motifs that may normally be considered purely decorative to depict more challenging subject matters.
She has run paper cutting and painting workshops at various venues over the last sixteen years.
In addition to this she teaches at the University of Aberdeen and previously at Gray’s School of Art. She also leads various art sessions in a hospital context and with young people working in community settings.
Website: www.shirron.ari
Cate Macpherson (She/her)
Cate has worked professionally in and out of arts and theatre since 1993 with a background in performance since she was a teenager. Playfulness is a big part of her approach to this project – building relationships, skills, fun with an element of surprise! A playful and physical approach can generate beauty and the unexpected, the sharing of special moments. She believes in creating a safe space in which to imagine, explore, support and connect with each other. At the core of her work is engagement with arts resulting in many benefits for health, confidence and relationships.
Donna Murray (She/her
Donna is an experienced photographer with a passion for teaching. She is experienced teaching photography at different levels to a wide range of ages. She is particularly experienced in supporting vulnerable individuals to use photography as an expressive tool. Her aim is to provide residents with a fun and engaging experience while instilling important skills that they can carry with them through a supportive and collaborative environment so people can learn at their own pace and explore their creativity without feeling overwhelmed.
Website: www.donnamurrayphotography.com
Insta: @donnamurrayphotography
Duncan Nicoll (He/him)
With a substantial track record as a creative film maker over the last twenty-five years Duncan enjoys making films that put people and places at the heart of the narrative in creative and engaging ways. He believes that creative practitioners can be an integral part of the pandemic recovery process, giving communities and organisations a voice and helping them engage with culture and the arts and express ideas and feelings in new ways that reflect the world we live in.
Elaine Grant (She/her)
Elaine is highly experienced at working directly with children, young people and their families through the delivery of a wide range of inclusive expressive arts activities and experiences in schools, communities and public spaces. While her own practice has been an influence on many of the activities and experiences she delivers, her ability to adapt and work flexibly, is evident in her experience of supporting participants while working with a range of different materials and processes. Creating inviting environments, ensuring participants feel welcome, comfortable and at ease in, she encourages individuals to engage in activities at their own pace and always place an emphasis on the processes and what participants gain from creative experiences rather than on finished pieces/products
Emily Utter
Emily Utter is a Canadian prose writer based in Aberdeen. She completed a Master of Letters in Creative Writing at the University of Aberdeen in 2012 and her PhD in 2016. Her writing has been published and anthologised in journals and magazines including the Northwest Review, Gutter, and Causeway/Cabhsair Magazine. She is the Writer-in-Residence at Roxburghe House, a specialist palliative care hospital in Aberdeen.
Laura Booth (She/her)
Laura is a dance artist and yoga teacher based in Aberdeen. She brings dance into peoples lives. She dances with people who may not have experienced dance before, people who are living with cancer, refugees, people with additional support needs, younger people and older people. She dances with everybody! Through her dance practice she takes care of people, helping them step into their power and create energy together. She gathers people together to play, connect, release and dance.
Robyn Benson (Them/They)
Robyn is an artist with an established contemporary visual arts practice, based near Turriff. Both their creative practice (10+ years), together with their community-focussed roles; as an LGBT+ Inclusion Advisor with Four Pillars, as Pupil Support Assistant at Lumsden School, founding member of national neurodivergent artist’s network, NEUK Collective, and creative session lead on self-instigated art workshops in my locale, have all given them the skills and experience required to deliver a high quality, equitable and genuine creative co-creation project with underrepresented communities, in support of the ongoing transition of the community hub.
Website: www.robyn-benson.com
Insta: @robynbenson
Samm Anga (He/him)
Samm’s approach to co-creation is to create a judgement free, process-driven space that places value on being present with the process of creation. This way it becomes seamless to share ideas across collaborators. He ensures participants are supported throughout by frequent checking in and incorporating play into the creative process. These are skills he has developed in-depth in his most recent residency and even when involving digital media, such as augmented and virtual realities. He constantly works to create simplified and accessible processes when working with technology so that no participant feels overwhelmed. Careful planning and providing appropriate alternative options are imperative in this process.
Sarah Driver
Sarah is a multi disciplinary designer / maker based in Glasgow and has a participatory practice working with individuals and communities to produce craft and design outcomes.
Her previous education includes English and Art and Design History, a degree in Fine Art at Gray’s School of Art and a HND in Visual Communication.
In 2015, she joined icecream architecture and has worked as Project Lead for various different projects which have required engaging adults and young people in various research, community consultations and exhibition projects.
In 2020 she completed the Princes Foundation Building Arts programme and has used this experience to continue her own practice as a printmaker and participatory designer.
Website: www.sarahdiverlang.com
Stephanie Whitelaw
Over the last five years, Stephanie has been involved in community development in integrative and creative capacities. Through her work, she cultivates personal engagements with local landscapes, both physical and digital. She draws energy and enthusiasm from working with communities to develop reciprocal, healthy relationships that are built on care and respect for the environment.
As an ecotherapist, eco-therapeutic practice is woven through her participatory projects, building spaces for deeper, collective understanding of our relationship with the natural environment.
Website: www.stephaniewhitelaw.uk