Gemma Hirst

Gemma Hirst

Journalism Graduate/ Culture Blogger/ Podcaster 

Final Year Project: 5 In-Depth Articles about Art Therapy

This was the final year project that I produced as part of my BA Journalism Degree at Sunderland University.

Please note these links will take you off my portfolio. 

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Reflection

Kiki Lovechild is a silent clown that deals with loneliness and mental health issues and this allows audiences to be aware of their own insecurities and stereotypes "loneliness and insecurity are two major themes in a lot of my work. Clowns don't follow the social convention of hiding their inner feelings in these situations, so we can fully see the absurdity of the situation. In that sense, the audience can relate to the situation and work through it - with the clown - in a non-threatening and
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Theatre is good for you

Daniel Bye thinks that theatre can be good for both the audience and the actor. A North East based theatre maker, his work is playful and immediate. His performances deals with comedy, tragedy, truth and lies. He engages with the audience and makes light of the hard-hitting issues in the world. Daniel Bye theatre maker and writer does think about the audience's feelings when creating a new performance but they are not central to his work "I think about whether they’ll relate to it in the sense
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Breaking the Barriers

Andre Louis was born blind, he is a pianist that uses his music as a language and way for getting through life's barriers. He was given his first piano at the age of three and finds that music acts as a creative outlet "certainly. I'll play music at all times of the day, and depending on my mood, what I write can be emotionally charged with the feelings I had at that time. I do play music to help me relax, to calm down, if I'm happy or sad." Andre creates music by thinking of an idea, sitting
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Dancing with a Disability

When Marc Brew was seriously injured in a car accident, he naturally thought his career as a dancer was over. He'd spent 20 years with professional troupes but now he is paralysed from the waist down. He couldn't imagine his life without dance. "Dance is who I am. It is a part of my identity." But years on, he is the founder of the Marc Brew dance company and has many successful performances to his name. Such as MayBe and Fusional Fragments.  Fusional Fragments looked into the concept of fusing
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The healing qualities of Art

When Richard Oliver was a little boy, he struggled with Maths and English. He always knew that he wouldn't have a career that involves working at a desk. He was more hands-on. When he was 14 years old he always caused trouble in his schooling life,  he wasn't interested in learning and was labelled as a lost cause "I felt lost at school but when Mr Hair took me under his wing and praised me for my work, and encouraged me to get on the potter’s wheel and show me how to manipulate clay creatively