Ally Zlatar

The Value of Lightness

Acrylic

About the artist

Ally Zlatar

Ally Zlatar is an artist, scholar and activist. She is the founder of The Starving Artist; an artist initiative that utilizes creative voices as a way to create advocacy and systemic reform. She also founded The Starving Artist Scholarship Fund which helps people access inpatient treatment for eating disorders. Her "This Body of Mine" campaign explores migrant experiences through creative voices and has helped support individuals and artists from refugee-seeking backgrounds globally.

Zlatar has received the highest accolade a young person can achieve for their humanitarian work; winner of The Princess Diana Legacy Award 2021, King Hamad Award for Youth Empowerment 2022, Lieutenant Governor's Community Volunteer Award from Ontario Government of Canada 2023 and also special recognition from The British Citizen Award 2022.

She holds a BFA in Visual Art & Art History from Queen's University & an MLitt Curatorial Practice and Contemporary Art from the Glasgow School of Art. Her Doctorate of Creative Arts is with the University of Southern Queensland focusing on embodied experiences of eating disorders in contemporary art. Zlatar is a Lecturer at the University of Glasgow (Anderson College) and has taught at KICL London, and the University of Essex (UEIC).

Zlatar uses art as a tool to delve into the complexity of the human experience, particularly focusing on illness, vulnerability, and authenticity. Her work draws from personal experiences & auto-ethnography to drive change. She recognizes the power in examining the unwell body and utilizes art as a means of activism, aiming to spark dialogue and create societal impact.