Biography


Victoria Gray [1982] is an artist and practice-led researcher, and has presented work nationally and internationally throughout the UK, Europe, USA and Canada. With an initial conservatoire training in dance and somatic practice (1998 - 2004), her primary medium and material is the body. Her work includes actions, interventions, time-based sculpture and video, being presented in museums, galleries and festivals in performance art, fine art and choreographic contexts.

Presentations include; Shape Arts (UK), FADO Performance Art Centre (Toronto, Canada), VIVA Art Action (Montréal, Canada), 5th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art (Greece), The Tetley Centre for Contemporary Art (Leeds), Yorkshire Sculpture Park (Wakefield), Baltic 39 (Newcastle Upon Tyne), Royal Museums Greenwich (London), Siobhan Davies Studios (London), 8th Biennial of Photography (Poznan, Poland), Grace Exhibition Space (New York), and Centre de Cultura de Dones Francesca Bonnemaison (Barcelona).

Current Practice


Her current artistic research is orientated within the field of autistic perception and sensory differences, drawing on lived experience, creative practice and philosophy. In particular, she is currently immersed in understanding sensory trauma and CPTSD within the autistic community and autistic sensory life-writing.

As well as fielding this enquiry through her artistic practice, she is a qualified neurodiversity specialist and consultant, working in the Education and Health and Social Care Sectors. In the wider community, as part of York Mental Health Partnership, she is founder of the Neurodiversity and Mental Health Working Group, an advocacy group focussed on improving access to and quality of services for autistic adults.

Academic Research & Teaching


She holds a PhD in Fine Art, awarded by Chelsea College of Art and Design, University of the Arts, London (2017). This research integrated affect studies, process philosophy, political theory and somatic practices to understand affect as a kinaesthetic consciousness.

Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and edited books in the fields of performance, affect theory and choreography, including articles in; The Drama Review (MIT Press, 2015); Choreographic Practices (Intellect, 2013) and Journal of Dance & Somatic Practice (Intellect, 2012; 2017) and chapters in Experiencing Liveness in Contemporary Performance (Routledge, 2016) and Kinesthetic Empathy in Creative & Cultural Practices (Intellect, 2012).

She has held several positions in academic institutions, including FE and HE, delivering across performance, writing, fine art and sound-based subjects. As an independent academic, she delivers on BA, MA and PhD courses by invitation.

Mentoring, Coaching & Consultancy


She is an experienced mentor, and has, for over a decade, facilitated one-to-one mentoring to artists, practice-led researchers and students working within the contexts of performance art, dance, theatre, fine art, and writing.

Drawing on her lived experience of being late-diagnosed autistic, and combined with professional training, she is experienced in and particularly welcomes mentoring neurodiverse artists.