I believe in the power of words.
I like talking to people and writing about it afterwards. It could be in English, or in French. Everyone has a story to tell.
I'm a creative storyteller. My experience ranges across arts and cultural writing, digital content creation, travel blogging, luxury hotel copywriting, investigative human rights journalism, fashion journalism and humanitarian educational work in India, France & Thailand.
I founded lines, an online zine that celebrates arts, culture and diversity of opinion. I commission writing, edit articles and collaborate with designers to create the brand. Currently I am editing issue two and planning a launch event to celebrate our second issue.
Wanderer, Wonderer. I'm a travel writer.
From India to the Atlas Mountains, my journey around the world is just beginning. I write evocatively about my travel experiences on my blog.
Creativity, communication and friendliness are the keys to living with confidence and compassion. I want to have an impact on my environment.
I am the project assistant for The Wilderness Archive, an innovative, interdisciplinary project that seeks to reveal and unite as many perspectives as possible on nature. The basic idea is that the more 'languages' or views on nature we can understand, the more people around the world can connect with the environment and mediate our impact upon it. The project is launching in a forest in the south of Chile, where we hope to invite artists, scientists and creative practitioners to live in residence and respond to the initial archive. Each archive exists in places on the fringes of 'wilderness', where there is a dialogue between humans and relatively untouched nature. My role is research and communications: designing a social strategy, conducting interviews and fundraising. Through art, we can find new ways to connect with the importance of the natural world that surrounds us.
Enthusiasm, energy and original ideas are my life source.
Projects
- 'Jog On' Adidas Originals x The GryphonWe independently pitched, researched and planned this shoot. Shot for The Gryphon's Fashion Section, in collaboration with Adidas Originals. Stylists: Claire McQue and Tiffany Grous Copy: Claire McQue Published: October 2015 in The Gryphon, University of Leeds' Student Newspaper
- Wilderness Archivewww.wildernessarchive.org An interdisciplinary project at the interface of art and nature, founded by independent curator and researcher Carlo Rizzo. The Wilderness Archive collects stories and rethinks how we make sense of Nature through collaborative research and residencies in locations at the boundary of Wilderness. Its purpose is to encourage new perspectives, creative endeavours and learning opportunities aimed at redefining our relationship with nature, starting from the very notion o
- BLOWING ITS OWN TRUMPET: JAZZ’S NEW AMERICAN DREAMAn article written for Us of America examining the resurgence of jazz in American popular music. "Across America, jazz artists are exploding onto the popular music scene. Innovative cross-genre collaborations and multi-instrumentalist producers are blowing jazz’s stuffy musical reputation out the water, making way for an undefinable, electrifying musical sound. " http://www.usofamerica.com/home/2018/5/11/blowing-its-own-trumpet-jazzs-new-american-dream?rq=jazz
- Acts of Compassion: Engaging with an Afghan Refugee's Narrative Motivated by a burning belief in social justice, in response to the Refugee Crisis, I independently researched and submitted an article to The Leeds Undergraduate Human Rights Journal in May 2017 that combined the personal, arduous story of Hassan, an Afghan refugee with pertinent facts to create a persuasive call for compassion. Published in The Leeds Undergraduate Human Rights Journal - Volume 5, Issue 1 Summer 2017
Work history
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Arts writerArt She Says
London, United KingdomFreelance
- I am one of the London-based writers for Art She Says, New York's first platform for women in the arts.
- I write articles and interview prominent women in the art world for the Art She Says website, celebrating the artistic achievements of women around the world.
- www.artshesays.com/author/clairemcque
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Project AssistantWilderness Archive
London, United KingdomFreelance
- Creating the instagram campaign that tells the story of the Wilderness Archive: an interdisciplinary project at the interface of art and nature, that seeks to reveal and unite new perspectives on nature.
- Travelled to the south of Chile (the site of the first archive) to conduct research regarding the interconnected elements of a forest there, meet creative practitioners and our partners, a private conservation foundation called Fundación Mar Adentro.
- Conduct research, relating to scientific data, contemporary artists or indigenous knowledge, that develops on our existing knowledge to reveal new insights or understanding on how we relate to nature.
- Interview creative practitioners about art and nature and edit the conversations, to be published on the 'Archive Live' section of our website as 'Conversations about art and nature.'
- www.wildernessarchive.org
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Skills
- Intercultural Communication
- Detail Orientated
- Lateral Creativity
- Analysing
- French Language
- Article Writing
- Content/copywriting/writing/editorial/advertising
- Adaptability
- Travel Writing
- Social Media
Education
First Class BA Degree in English Literature and French, Distinction in spoken FrenchUniversity of Leeds
- Leeds, United Kingdom
First class Joint Honours degree with a distinction in spoken French included one year living abroad in Montpellier France. I orientated my degree towards literature studies in both languages, as well as journalistic and literary translation from French to English, and from English to French. I directed my learning towards the study of feminism, representations of sexuality, gender and identity.
Principal Modules studied:
Contemporary Women's Writing in France - engaging with contemporary representations of female identity, sexuality and autobiographical writing in French literature.
African Literature - studying 20th and 21st century plays, short stories and novels produced in different African countries focusing on the Post-Colonial identity and the politics of representation.
Sub-Saharan and Francophone Voices - study of Francophone writers from Northern Africa, examining the divide between French and Francophone, Post-Colonial narratives and gender identity in these countries.
Short Stories - examining how this genre has been used to subversive ends since the 14th century.
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3 A Levels French (A*), English Literature (A*), Biology (A*), History (A -AS Level)Hitchin Girls' School
- Hitchin, United Kingdom