ABOUT GEMMA COOK

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About Gemma

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Gemma's multidisciplinary career uniquely combines artistic practice, disability advocacy, and academic research.

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Her art practice is gestural, expressive, and deeply emotional. Working primarily in charcoal, Gemma draws instinctively and at pace, with the human figure at the heart of her work. She also extends her charcoal drawings into animation and poetry films, exploring movement, memory, and emotion across different media.

 

Performance drawing is an important part of Gemma's practice. She has conducted this in a range of settings, including academic conferences, dance performances, and live music events. Otherwise she is based at her studio in Hove, where she develops her artistic practice.

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Gemma holds a PhD that used creative methods to explore the lived experiences of adults with cerebral palsy within political contexts. Alongside her artistic work, she is an international disability inclusion consultant, working with organisations around the world to advance the rights of persons with disabilities, particularly in low-income countries. She is also a trustee of the Rosie Jones Foundation, which promotes creativity to support mental health, wellbeing, and a sense of belonging for people with cerebral palsy.

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Gemma worked for over twenty years as a neurological physiotherapist, holding leadership roles in several NHS teaching hospitals. This extensive clinical experience has given her a deep, embodied understanding of the human body, which continues to inform and enrich her observational and expressive drawing practice.

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Academic Achievements

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• PhD - Brunel University  Grand  - ESRC Funded Scholarship - 2026

• MSc - Global Health Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine - 2015​

• BSc - Physiotherapy - King's College London - 1999​

• BA - Combined Arts - University of Liverpool - 1994

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