Dr. Laura King from the University of Leeds chairs an exploration of all things art and health with Leeds-based artist Ellie Harrison - Artistic Director of The Grief Series - and Mick Ward, formerly of Leeds City Council, now associate at Nurture Development, Health Innovation Lab, and Trustee at PAFRAS (Positive Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers).

Ellie Harrison is a performance maker and artist living in Leeds and working internationally.

She creates a range of solo and collaborative devised performance work for studios, galleries, found and public spaces. Participation is at the heart of all of her work as a performer, facilitator and mentor of young people. Her work is often characterised by a playful and provocative approach to difficult topics, encouraging audiences to make decisions and participate.

She graduated from Bretton Hall with a first class Degree in Acting in 2006 and an MA in Performance with Distinction from Leeds Beckett University in 2011.

After graduating Ellie was on the Artistic Direction team for Pointed Arrow, making a range of journey based public art projects. Her first solo show Dressing The Part toured nationally and was developed into a durational performance in collaboration with Ollie Smith and supported by Greenroom Manchester and Light Night Leeds.

In 2015 Ellie won A Love Arts award for her work on The Grief Series. Working on Grief Series has seen Ellie travel to Prague, Paris, Mexico City, Sibiu Festival and Timisoara Romania. The Projects in The Grief Series have gained national press attention. She has been invited to speak on Radio 4's Women’s Hour and has been included in Lynn Gardner’s theatre pick of the year.

Ellie is supported in her role by a team of Access Assistants.

Website: https://www.griefseries.co.uk/

Instagram: @griefseries  @mickmodern

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/griefseries/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GriefSeries  https://twitter.com/mickmodern  https://twitter.com/drlauraking