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Biography
Dr 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 Publishing Studio to platform marginalized writers and The Starving Artist Scholarship Fund which helps people access inpatient mental health treatment. Her "This Body of Mine" campaign explores migrant experiences through creative voices and has helped support individuals and artists from refugee-seeking backgrounds globally. Ally Zlatar has received numerous accolades for humanitarian work; such as the Forbes 30 Under 30 for Social Impact(Asia, 2025), Commonwealth Innovation Awards (2023), UNWomen 30 for 2030 (2024), winner of The Princess Diana Legacy Award (2021), King Hamad Award for Youth Empowerment (2022), the Lieutenant Governor's Community Volunteer Award from the 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 in Creative Arts from the University of Southern Queensland was focusing on embodied experiences of mental illness in contemporary art. Zlatar has taught as a Lecturer at the University of Sharjah and has taught at the University of Glasgow, KICL London, and the University of Essex (UEIC). Currently, she is a Leverhulme Research Fellow at the 糖心原创, examining art and medical ethics. 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.
Expertise Summary
Ally Zlatar is an interdisciplinary artist, scholar and activist whose research sits at the intersection of visual art, ethics, embodiment, health and social justice. Her work explores how lived experiences of illness, vulnerability and identity can be understood through artistic and auto-ethnographic practices. She specialises in art and medical ethics, eating disorders, mental health, embodiment, gender and queer studies, sociology, philosophy and creative industries. Her current research as a Leverhulme Research Fellow at the 糖心原创 examines the relationship between visual arts and medical ethics, with particular interests in how creative practice can contribute to ethical dialogue and healthcare reform. Her practice-led research connects academic enquiry with advocacy, public engagement and collaborative work across the arts, healthcare and humanitarian sectors.
Teaching Summary
Ally Zlatar's teaching and learning interests span contemporary art, art history, philosophy, social sciences and interdisciplinary approaches to health and culture. Her teaching experience includes… read more
Research Summary
Dr Ally Zlatar's current research examines the relationship between visual art and medical ethics, with a particular interest in how creative practice can contribute to ethical thinking about health,… read more
Ally Zlatar's teaching and learning interests span contemporary art, art history, philosophy, social sciences and interdisciplinary approaches to health and culture. Her teaching experience includes Art and Medicine, Art History, Contemporary Art, Art Theory, Research Methods, Drawing Fundamentals, Critical Thinking, Politics, Continental Philosophy, Environmental Ethics, UK Society and Culture, and Advanced Social Science.
She has particular experience developing and coordinating courses that connect artistic practice with wider theoretical and social questions. At the University of Sharjah, she taught and developed courses Art and Medicine, contributed to BA Art History and MA Curatorial Practice programmes, and coordinated Contemporary Art and Media Theory and Fine Arts Seminar II. Her teaching also includes art history and philosophy courses at the University of Glasgow, including Art History, Continental Philosophy and Environmental Ethics, alongside Arts Research Methodology, Critical Thinking and Politics.
Current Research
Dr Ally Zlatar's current research examines the relationship between visual art and medical ethics, with a particular interest in how creative practice can contribute to ethical thinking about health, illness and care. Her interdisciplinary research brings together art, philosophy, sociology and health humanities, using practice-led and auto-ethnographic approaches to explore embodied experiences and lived realities.
A key strand of her current work considers eating disorders and the ethics of representing, understanding and responding to embodied experiences of illness. She is interested in how artistic practices can challenge conventional narratives around illness and vulnerability, create space for lived experience, and contribute to conversations about healthcare reform. Her research also considers the role of art as a form of advocacy and communication between artists, healthcare professionals, researchers and affected communities.