I've just finished a PhD in art history, and I'm now looking for work; which means quite a lot of travelling round for interviews and to attend "networking" events like conferences and festivals. I like to make new contacts and friends on my journeys.

There are three main areas I'm interested in, and ideally they would overlap: curatorial and research work in museums and galleries; documentaries and filmmaking; critical essay writing. For example, in 2014, I worked at the Venice Architecture Biennale and wrote about architecture and immigration control. Before I did postgraduate study I worked on an eclectic mixture of film projects, e.g. i was a runner on the remake of Brideshead Revisited; an assistant for a Red Cross/Red Crescent set of PSAs about climate change in the caribbean; the original cameraperson and editor at the internet tv site, channelflip.com; an assistant to the cameraman on an episode of Natural World about Cuckoos; and I made a behind-the-scenes video following Oxford's Pegasus youth theatre to Liverpool Capital of Culture.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

In 2014 I hosted my friend from Morocco, El Habib Louai, who I met through facebook, and as that went well, I thought I would try this site which is dedicated to the same sort of thing.

Right now, I'm interested in coming to Sheffield Doc/Fest but the pass is very expensive so I could only afford to come if people would be willing to host me! The dates I would need to be able to stay are 4th-11th June, though if you could only accommodate me for a day or two, I would try and move about between different hosts.

Interests

Films, music, literature, art, architecture, philosophy.

• arts
• culture
• writing
• literature
• architecture
• documentaries
• film making
• festivals
• movies
• tv
• traveling
• music
• scuba diving
• art history
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

Music:

I'm open minded about music and enjoy a lot of different styles, but "indie" and post-punk are my original love and the genres I habitually fall back on (e.g. REM, The Smiths, Flaming Lips, Gang of Four, Radiohead, Belle and Sebastian, etc).

Movies:

Since I'm hoping to come to Sheffield, it makes sense to focus on films. I do enjoy the big mainstream action films (e.g. recently liked Mad Max: Fury Road). But in terms of the kind of stuff I'm interested in working on, I particularly admire sociopolitically engaged experimental documentaries that border onto art films - the kind of things that these days might be as likely to be shown in a gallery as in a cinema or on tv - made by people like Luke Fowler, Otolith Group, Harun Farocki, Black Audio Film Collective, Adam Curtis, etc. Specific subjects that interest me are psychology and the environment (both natural and built). There's far too much happening in Sheffield to list everything I want to see, but here are a few links to give you a sense of what I would prioritise:

https://sheffdocfest.com/strands/117
https://sheffdocfest.com/strands/87
https://sheffdocfest.com/sessions/4451
https://sheffdocfest.com/sessions/4085
https://sheffdocfest.com/sessions/4097

Books:

I've read a lot over the years (I did an English literature degree), and I particularly like to read philosophy and theory (I like Nietzsche, Deleuze, Marx, Freud, etc). But I don't spend as much time reading books as I used to because I tend to read a lot of shorter articles online!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I learnt to scuba dive in Indonesia.

Teach, Learn, Share

Would be great to share discussions about art and filmmaking.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share my knowledge of the places I've travelled to, and the different fields I've worked in. Of the countries listed I've visited, about half were for holidays and half were for work and research trips.

I live with my parents at the moment so it's not easy to host, but if/when I get my own place, I should be able to reciprocate people's hospitality! Most likely that will be in London but it depends where I find a job.

Countries I’ve Visited

Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Lebanon, Netherlands, Portugal, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

England