About
Anna May is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, performer and facilitator based in London. She is interested in exploring difficult human experiences and building more connected ways of living.
Sitting at the intersection of psychology and spirituality, and drawing from personal experiences, her work circles themes like grief, trauma and memory, as well as healing, dreaming, intimacy, and liberation.
It creates space to untangle difficult experiences, explore alternative realities, forge connections, deepen our sense of self, and empower positive change.
While her practice initially sought to make clear the unclear and give audiences and participants something concrete to hold onto, she is now exploring more ambiguous forms of expression:
“In a world where content is available at the click of a button, and opinions shouted from every corner, I am increasingly interested in the value of the unsaid. How do we cultivate presence through art? How do we create something that is real and alive? Something that speaks less to the mind and more to the heart? How can this prompt a gentle unfolding in each individual? And leading on from this, how can the intangible have a tangible impact?”
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Anna is an experienced project manager, focused on collaborating across disciplines - from the arts, to education and healthcare. She has delivered programmes with multiple schools, NHS trusts, charities and businesses. She is the Founder of The Student Grief Network and Touching Palms Art Collective, and Executive Head of Kaplan International Grief Programmes.
Connect via LinkedIn //
Follow on Instragram @annajmay
Featured work and awards:
2025, nominated for Student Support Award with The PIE
2025, nominated for Best Grief Initiative with This Can Happen
2024, solo exhibition Touching Palms with Grief, St Margaret’s House
2024, exhibited in Living with Death exhibition, Leeds City Museum
2023, published by Artists Responding To...
2023, shortlisted and published by Mslexia
2023, nominated Future Human Leader of the Year with TLC Lions
2023, nominated for the Storyteller Award with This Can Happen
2021-2022, recieved the UnLtd Social Enterprise Start Up Award
2021, published in The Artists’ Grief Deck
2018, received Royal Society of the Arts Edward Boyle Award
2018 & 2019, shortlisted for Leeds for Life Citizenship Award
2017-2018, Leeds Excellence in the Arts Programme (LEAP)
2017, shortlisted for Alison Moorland Poetry Competition
2016, shortlisted for Peace Poetry Award
2025, nominated for Student Support Award with The PIE
2025, nominated for Best Grief Initiative with This Can Happen
2024, solo exhibition Touching Palms with Grief, St Margaret’s House
2024, exhibited in Living with Death exhibition, Leeds City Museum
2023, published by Artists Responding To...
2023, shortlisted and published by Mslexia
2023, nominated Future Human Leader of the Year with TLC Lions
2023, nominated for the Storyteller Award with This Can Happen
2021-2022, recieved the UnLtd Social Enterprise Start Up Award
2021, published in The Artists’ Grief Deck
2018, received Royal Society of the Arts Edward Boyle Award
2018 & 2019, shortlisted for Leeds for Life Citizenship Award
2017-2018, Leeds Excellence in the Arts Programme (LEAP)
2017, shortlisted for Alison Moorland Poetry Competition
2016, shortlisted for Peace Poetry Award