Asha Zappa
I’m Asha, my pronouns are xie/xer or they/them. I’m a registered Art Therapist, researcher, lived experience expert, and occasional performer, with an interest in the way communities use creativity as part of collective healing.
Much of my research has focused on Art Therapy with trans and gender independent clients and examines the potential for Art Therapy to disrupt traditional (oppressive) models of psychiatry.
I am fascinated by the way that art and creativity have formed part of the mental health consumer/survivor/ex-patient movement, and how creativity allows us to speak back to the medical model on our own terms.
I’m a fat activist and much of my own art, particularly performance, focuses on body liberation. I also coordinate and host the “Mad Pride” concerts as part of Sydney Mardi Gras, which hosts a range of performers with lived experiences of mental ill-health.
I play Dungeons and Dragons, and feel the urge to mention this wherever possible – including biographies where it may not be entirely appropriate.