I am a freelance writer specialising in the arts and travel. My work has been published in The Independent newspaper, Bloomberg News, UK classical music magazine The Strad, contemporary culture magazine DAMn, the Brussels monthly The Bulletin and Belgian weekly Flanders Today. I have also co-authored a travel book, 10 x short breaks on the Flemish Coast, published in June 2011.
Before going freelance in 2008, I had worked for almost eight years with Bloomberg News in Singapore and Brussels, working on the general news, business news and legal news desks and occasionally finding time to write an arts or travel feature. Now it’s the other way round, with virtually all my energy thrown into what I’m passionate about: the arts and travel.
Among the many interesting people I have interviewed are:
- Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, world-renowned choreographer
- Bernard Foccroulle, then head of the Brussels opera house La Monnaie
- Lawrence Weiner, US conceptual artist
- Tom Trevor, director of the U.K.’s Arnolfini
- Kathryn Bennetts, artistic director at the Royal Ballet of Flanders
- Liam Gillick, British artist
- Michel Draguet, director at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts Belgium
- Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel, the design duo of Antwerp’s Studio Job
- Geert Riem, programme manager for the Royal Flemish Philharmonic
- Guy Coolen, director of Muziektheater Transparant
- Berlinde De Bruyckere, Belgian artist
- Philippe Van Snick, Belgian artist
- Jan Goossens, artistic director of KVS (Royal Flemish Theatre)
For a more complete list of the art collectors and artists, designers and theatre directors, museum curators and musicians I have interviewed, take a look at my Published culture articles page. For a list of my published travel articles, click here.
Education
I have a BA Hons and MA in Modern Languages (French and German) from Oxford University. Languages remain a passion of mine and over the years I have gone on to learn Dutch, Italian and Malay. In 2011 I started a course in Czech, my first Slavic language.
I have also studied part-time with the Open University. In 2009 (after a break of more than a decade from academia) I followed ‘Words and Music,’ a cross-discipline course designed by the literature and music departments, and for which I received a distinction. In 2010 I successfully completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Music, gaining a distinction in my final exam.
Previous employers
Bloomberg News
Miller Freeman (then owned by United News & Media)
BBC Worldwide Publishing
Interests
Music - play violin and piano, member of symphony orchestras and chamber groups.
Performing arts – enjoy going to concerts, dance performances, theatre and opera.
Travel - love visiting new countries and learning more about the language and culture.
Sport - hockey, tennis, scuba diving, skiing.
