Research Interests:

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• Transdisciplinary Arts-Based Practice Research

• Aesthetic Experience

• Phenomenology and Embodiment of Arts

• Creative Consciousness: Arts Phenomenology 

• Heuristic Inquiry: Multimodal Artistic Expressions

• Metaphysical Expression through the Arts

• Identity Intersectionality Through Arts Practice Research 

• Auditory Realities, Aural Diversity: Sensory Sensitivities Through Arts

• Autistic Musicians' Auditory Realities, Hyperacusis: Music, Film, Sound

• Participatory, Transformative, and Emancipatory Approaches in Arts

• Bricolage, Crystallisation and Subversive Research Methods

• Poetic Inquiry, Poetic Metaphor and Psychanalysis, Reflexive Autoethnography

• Film- (Documentary): Observational (CV)/Direct and Poetic Modes

• Radio, Audio, Sound: Narratives Through Auditory Art

• Expressive Arts Therapy: Neuroplasticity, Music and Attachment Styles

• Child Intermodal Psychotherapeutic Counselling Using the Arts 

• Excluded, Underrecognised, and Underexplored Communities 

• Race, Ethnicity and Mixed-Race/Cultured Identities in Arts Research

• Care Leavers and Care-Experienced Identities in Arts

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www.xsara.co.uk/academic

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My academic journey is distinguished by an interdisciplinary path incorporating broadcasting, radio, social sciences, documentary film, music, psychotherapeutic counselling, and the arts.  Informed by my positionality as a neurodivergent, care-experienced, mixed-ethnicity artist, my research is inspired by exploratory artistic methods that transcend conventional research paradigms.

 

Guided by principles of social justice and inspired by transformative and emancipatory paradigms, I offer participants collaborative opportunities for audiovisual storytelling and narrative construction. By synthesising narrative methodologies with artistic praxis, I strive to construct a multifaceted, phenomenological understanding of often ignored communities, ensuring their voices are not just heard but 'experienced' by others through the arts.

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HONOURS 

 

• PhD Studentship- The Leverhulme Trust Aural Diversity Doctoral Research (LAURA)

• BAFTA Reuben Scholarship- MA Filmmaking (Screen Documentaries) Goldsmiths, University of London.

• Honorary MA Radio Student status, granted by Emeritus Professor Tim Crook, Goldsmiths, University of London.

• Care Leaver Ambassador by Care Leaver's Association

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EDUCATION

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Oct 2024 -2027: 

University of Salford, Leverhulme Trust Aural Diversity Research Doc Hub (LAURA), Acoustics/School of Arts, Media

PhD, (Music/Film/Arts)

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Research Project: Sonic Selfhood: Reclaiming Music Scores- Neurodivergent Musicians' Auditory Identity Through Transdisciplinary Arts-Based Research Practice'

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This three-year project will integrate transdisciplinary arts-based research methods to provide multilayered communication and understanding of how neurodivergent musicians navigate their aural experiences through their instruments. Autistic musicians will contribute artefacts through audio, film, compositions, live performances, and mixed-media art to capture these lived auditory experiences resulting in an end-of-project immersive, sensory art installation that will be available to the public.

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JAN 2022 – JAN 2024:

University of Greenwich, Level 7 PGCE (Further Education)

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Research Project: ‘Conflicts in Neurodivergent Learning in Educational Institutions’:

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Explored systemic conflicts between institutional practices, work culture and policies promoting neurodivergent learning, highlighting issues such as autistic tokenism, spatial design and internal politics and funding in (FE) colleges hindering support for autistic learners and staff, emphasising the impact of institutional cultural barriers on policy implementation.

 

SEP 2018 – AUG 2020

Goldsmiths College, University of London, BAFTA Reuben Scholarship,

MA (Masters) in Filmmaking (Screen Documentaries) (First term in TV Journalism)

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Research Project: "Silence"

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A documentary exploration of why British Black heterosexual men are ignored over their experiences of mental health, abuse and suicide. It explores how society willfully overlooks these experiences, perpetuating a cycle of silence and invisibility through socially pressured masculinities.

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SEP 2018 – AUG 2020

Goldsmiths College, University of London, Honorary MA Radio student

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Granted by Emeritus Professor Tim Crook, Goldsmiths, University of London

 

SEP 2016 – JUN 2017:

University of Cambridge, PGCert, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapeutic Counselling

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Research Project: "Does Metaphor Help Us Understand What A Child's Emotional World Of Parental Mental Illness Through Art?: A Case Study Of Non-Directive Sessions With A Young Carer"

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Explored how young children aged five who were primary carers to parents battling mental illness, communicate their emotional experiences through artistic expression. The case study involved non-directive counselling sessions and used interpretative analysis of metaphors and symbolic representations present in the child's artwork to gain further insights into how children internalise and process the complexities of their caregiving roles and how this impacts their emotional landscape of parental mental health challenges on their lived realities.   

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Sep 2009 – JUNE 2012

Goldsmiths College, University of London, BA Sociology

 

Research Project: Virtual or Reality?: Intimacy in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs)

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Investigated the phenomenon of couples and intimate relationships formed within massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) using qualitative methods. It focused on players who developed profound emotional connections and romantic bonds with others strictly through virtual interactions, despite never meeting their partners in the physical world.  The participants viewed these exclusively online, avatar-based relationships as holding the same significance, intimacy, and emotional depth as traditional romantic relationships conducted in the physical world.  

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Other courses:

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JAN 2012 – MAY 2013:

MMBE (Managing a Music Business Enterprise), Music Business School/ (Tileyard Education)​​

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SEP 2008 – JUN 2009:

Access to Social Sciences, Kensington & Chelsea College /(Morley College)

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May 2009 – Oct 2009:

Millinery Design Certificate, Kensington & Chelsea College/ (Morley College)

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SEP 2006 – 2007:

Vocal Diploma Popular Music, MusicTech/ (BIMM London)

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CPD

SEP – NOV 2023:  TEFL UK, Advanced 150 hr Certificate in Teaching English In A Foreign Language

MAY – JUNE 2023: TQUK, Level 2 Certificate in Special Educational Needs and Disability

 

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

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With over five years of experience, I have taught a diverse range of subjects including Music, Social Sciences, Media, PSHE, and Humanities. My instructional style is primarily rooted in constructivist and humanistic methodologies, emphasising student-centred learning, critical thinking, and personal growth. However, I occasionally integrate behaviourist strategies for deadlines and structured learning outcomes. 

 

I have taught across diverse educational environments, including secondary schools, alternative education provisions, and Further Education (FE) colleges.  I have experience working with neurodivergent (SEND) learners and individuals with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD). This has developed my skills in adaptive teaching and creating inclusive learning environments.

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I have been a Course Leader and Lecturer for several courses, including Access to Psychology, Access to Psychology & Education, Access to Social Sciences and Humanities, UAL  Diplomas in Creative, Performing, and Production Arts Department, BTEC Health & Social Care, GCSE courses in Religious Studies, Art, Music, History, and the Level 2 Vocal Artist RSL Diploma.  My diverse subject specialisms and adaptable pedagogical approach enable me to effectively engage and support a wide range of learners in different educational contexts.​​​​​​​