STORYTELLING
Sharing her personal story, Anne-laure speaks about her creative adventures, journeys with depression, as well as her driving passion for inspiring people to get outdoors and connect creatively with the world around them.
She speaks from the heart, and in sharing her vulnerability she shows how this quality has become her biggest strength.
Her speaking style is down to earth and and audiences easily relate to her, leaving the talk energised and inspired to make change in their daily lives.
‘A-L is not just an artist with her paintbrush but is an artist of life. She creates visual expeditions and paints the most beautiful of images with her words.’
Danny Bent
STORY TOPICS
Shifting Sands Expedition
In 2014 Lucy and Anne-Laure set off in a 1971 Land Rover to experience and document life in North Africa and the Near East. Their aim? To add a positive layer of information to the negative picture portrayed in the mainstream media, interweaving the stories of the people they met with their own. They navigated noise, exhaustion, discomfort, searing heat and almost daily breakdowns – coming across generosity and creativity in every place they went, making friends often in the most unexpected of circumstances.
Who is this talk for? A great adventure talk that can be tailored to any audience, from adventure festivals, corporate audiences to schools and universities.
Find out more here: shifting-sands.co
The Art of Adventure
A talk exploring the art of creative travel - with examples of painting and drawing around the world. If you’ve ever dreamed of travelling and making art on the road this is be the perfect opportunity to be inspired. Anne-Laure explores landscapes with the aim of igniting curiosity and inspire others to connect with the natural world. She understands how vital spending time in wild landscapes is to human wellbeing, and how we need to all rewild ourselves. Drawing and painting allows her to connect even more deeply with the environments she travels through, every mark brings her closer to her subject, the most captivating of muses: planet earth in all her wildness.
Who is this talk for? For anyone who thinks they cannot draw or paint, people wanting inspiration of how to document their travels through art when travelling.
The Scenic Route
In this talk Anne-Laure shares her creative journey starting as a young unhappy architecture student who always dreamt of being an artist. She describes the key crossroads of along the way, the events that gave her to courage to follow her true passion.
Who is this talk for? This talk is inspiring for anyone who has ever felt that they are not quite in the right job or following their true path in life. Perfect for young people and adults alike.
PREVIOUS TALKS
2018
Artist in the field panel member, Explore Conference at the Royal Geographical Society
Cass Art, Islington
2017
Night of Adventure- Shifting Sands in drawings UCL
Night of Adventure- Shifting Sands in drawings East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf
2016
Travel Storytelling Festival - Brussels - Shifting Sands Expedition
Private corporate audience - Brussels - Shifting Sands Expedition
Yestival - The Scenic Route
Project Awesome Spoken Word - A Peek Inside
2015
Women's Adventure Expo - The Scenic Route
Cambridge university - Shifting Sands Expedition 2014 talk with Lucy Engleheart
Yestival - The Scenic Route
Paddington Library - Shifting Sands Expedition 2014 talk with Lucy Engleheart
The Porterlight Bike Pop-Up in Covent Garden - Shifting Sands talk with a focus on Libya
Basecamp festival - Workshop on overlanding in a Series 2A Land Rover
Explorer's Connect London - Shifting Sands Expedition 2014 talk with Lucy Engleheart
Tales of Adventure London - Shifting Sands Expedition 2014 talk with Lucy Engleheart
The Telegraph outdoor and adventure travel show Excel London - Shifting Sands Expedition 2014 talk with Lucy Engleheart
2014
Explore weekend at The Royal Geographical Society - Shifting Sands Expedition 2014 talk with Lucy Engleheart
WORKSHOPS
Anne-Laure regularly runs workshops for organisations such as the Sunday Assembley, charities and corporate clients. Workshops can be tailored to suit any event or client.
Typical drawing workshop
•Visualisation/ breathing exercise
• Introduction into mindful drawing & creativity
• Quick & playful group drawing exercises
• Individual drawing exercises
• Free drawing time
• Draw a postcard to your future self
• Discussion/ mini expo & close
Workshops lengths start at 90 mins and go up to 4hrs. The structure varies according to the length of the session.
The brief and requirements of the group will be discussed well in advance of the event with the coordinator and tailored to specific needs.
We typically begin with a short introduction into mindfulness using relaxation and visualisation techniques.
Everyone leaves with strategies and plans for how they can build habits and fuse creativity into their daily life.
Sessions can be held indoors, ideally in spaces with greenery (if not plants can be provided), as well as outdoors in parks or gardens or further or in more remote locations.
WORKSHOP TYPES
Drawing and Mindfulness
A free drawing workshop where you will start with exercises to decompress, sooth, A-L will teach basic drawing techniques but the focus is on playful experimental exploration - not a finished masterpiece.
Who is this workshop for? For people/ teams who want to focus on creative play as through drawing as a means of mindful relaxation. Good team building event as well as open workshop for a festival.
Creative cactus drawing
Much like Drawing and mindfulness above, but with an added focus of drawing mini cacti - and taking them home with you afterwards.
Who is this workshop for? For people who want to focus on creative play as through drawing as a means of mindful relaxation. Good team building event as well as open workshop for a festival.
Drawing on Expedition
This workshop starts with a short talk about drawing on your travels, with tips and tricks on equipment, techniques and examples from Anne-laure’s expeditions. You will then get a chance to try it for yourself with a sketchbook and art materials provided.
Who is this workshop for? Perfect for people who want to explore illustrating their travels as a form of storytelling and also learn a skills whilst on the move.
PREVIOUS CLIENTS
• Google London
• InTransit Festival, RBKC
• Victoria & Albert Museum
• Mobile Garden City, Stratford
• Chobham Manor Art Strategy
• Sunday Assembly
• Add Perspective
• 10 eighty coaching
• The City Centre
“I am a beginner artist, having not produced any work since school, and at first I was endeavouring to draw something of quality or at least something not too embarrassing.
Anne-Laure puts the focus on the process rather than the result and her sessions are encouraging, non-judgmental and offer a much appreciated creative outlet from the normal day job. I’ve loved the plant drawing sessions.”
– Nel
You can download a PDF with more information about booking Anne-Laure as a speaker or to run workshops here