Svetlana Atlavina

Before joining Buckinghamshire New University in 2021, I was working as a leading artist and art educator for projects funded by Art Council England during the COVID pandemic to support medical staff and patients of the CPFT NHS Mental Health Hospitals.

I studied for my Master's in Fine Art and Printmaking at Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University. My specialist area of interest is socially engaged art with a focus on participatory and collaborative art practices for community and art groups. My art research is analysing the connection between unconscious memories from the pre-symbolic stage of human development and created art forms, their effect on a viewer perception, ambivalence of motherly care and the gaze.

I actively participate in art projects and exhibitions across the United Kingdom and abroad. Teaching at Higher Education brings learning about new approaches to socially engaged practices, philosophy of relationships in the community, and art groups.

I hold the Associate Fellowship with HEA I am a member of The UK art institution, a-n: The Artists Information Company.

My experience and knowledge have led me to work with clients as the British Association of Art Therapists, NHS, and Women in Prison.

My greatest accolade to date is winning two Arts Council England grants and a-n: The Artists Information Company for projects in partnership with CPFT NHS. In 2019, I was awarded participation at the MA & Other UK Postgraduates Art Exhibition at The Atkinson Gallery, Somerset.

• Associate Lecturer