Head:On:Conversations
Head:On:Conversations is a radical think-tank and space for urgent reflection and conversations, truth-telling and action.
I launched the first Head:On:Conversations event in 2019 in collaboration with The Place and One Dance UK, bringing together arts professionals to reflect, debate and take action on mental health and emotional wellbeing in the dance and cultural sector.
Since then, I’ve taken the conversation internationally, presenting ‘Safeguarding the Mental Health of Artists in a Creative Process’ at IADMS and One Dance UK conferences, and joining panels such as LGBTQI+ Encounters (Yorkshire Dance) and Safety in Dance (Moving Body Arts).
My work has also featured on platforms like Stance on Dance, and in podcasts including ResDance, Dance Dialogues, Lead & Create, and Dance Futures’ Dancing with Discomfort.
It exists to disrupt the status quo, challenge oppressive systems, and drive meaningful change.
Rooted in co-creation and shared leadership, Head:On:Conversations builds alliances across communities, sectors and lived experiences to imagine, design and lead transformative change together.
Head:On:Conversations is artist-led and advocacy driven.
It exists to protect artists at every stage of their careers, centering lived experience and amplifying individual voices through panels, storytelling, debate, creative opportunities and public sharing.
It’s not just a space for action but also for listening, reflection, and opportunity.
Head:On:Conversations invites artists to lead the dialogue, take part in curation and be welcomed into spaces, encouraging a healthy, ongoing cycle between artists and organisations.
It promotes reflective practice, strengthens listening between artists and institutions and supports the ongoing creation of opportunities that keep artists at the centre of the conversation, developing opportunities, networking and growth.
Listen to the Head:On:Conversations video above to hear the dialogue in action.
Head:On:Conversations has expanded into new formats, including Head:On:Café and Head:On:Inside.
Head:On:Café
Head:On:Café came about during the COVID-19 lockdowns - an online space where artists could safely connect, share experiences and reduce feelings of isolation.
Each café features a guest artist who shares their lived experience and practice, opening space for reflection, conversation and visibility.
Head:On:Inside
Head:On:Inside is a creative collaboration with videographer Rosie Powell and invited artists.
Together, we co-created a film series rooted in safe, empowering practice. Each artist was offered a framework of prompts and choices. My aim was for each film to feel like a gift - something the artist owns and feels proud to share; a legacy that continues the conversation beyond its making.
The resulting films explore how artists see themselves, how they feel seen by others and how mental health intersects with identity and lived experience. They’re intimate, powerful expressions, celebrating difference and standing as quiet acts of defiance.