Biography

– Dip in Final Cut Pro Editing, London Academy of Media and Film.
– Dip Documentary Filmmaking, London Academy of Media and Film.
– NCFE CACHE Mental Health Awareness, Gateshead College.
– Autism Awareness, Friends Action North East.
– Dementia Awareness, Dementia Friends.
– Developing SEND-Inclusive Learning.

As a mixed media artist Rachel Eleanor Brook produces conceptual and abstract art, fabric and needle-crafting, artist film/moving-image and digital art. Crossing boundaries between artistic production and community-based-change Brook focuses on the act of doing and togetherness as the artistic hook within their work.

Rachel (They/Them) is a #neuroqueer mid-career artist with an MA in Film Studies and a background in film and cinema. Their multidisciplinary practice includes found object assemblage, textile and fibre art, abstract painting and artist moving image. They work in community co-creation, leading groups through ambitious collaborative projects as well as smaller workshop programmes. Accessibility sits at the centre of their approach, supported by ongoing professional development and training in Autism, SEND, dementia awareness and mental health first aid.

Their community-focused practice has involved collaborations with a range of organisations across the North-East and beyond. They have facilitated artist film workshops at Tynedale Hospice at Home, produced creative events with Monkfish Productions CIO and Northern Creative Solutions, and delivered projects with Arts and Heritage. From 2021 to early 2022, they worked with Ripon Museum Trust, empowering young people with different learning styles to engage in creative conversations about fairness. In 2022 Rachel was commissioned as a resident artist at Arbeia Roman Fort in South Shields, exploring hidden histories with regional participants as part of the 1900-year anniversary of Hadrian’s Wall. The project culminated in an exhibition at the museum in 2023, featuring artworks produced in response to this community engagement. Between 2023 and 2025 Rachel delivered multiple community co-creation projects with The Cultural Spring, as well as over 30 one-off workshops.

In November 2025 they will attend a Clore Emerging Leadership residency to expand their leadership skills and deepen their commitment to collaborative creative practice and mentoring. They have twice been supported by an ACE Developing Your Creative Practice grant. Rachel is in the early stages of developing a PhD proposal examining the conditions of regional community longevity, specifically in relation to textile and fibre art.

They are an advocate for the importance of art-making, community joy and solidarity for LGBTQIA+ people and families, foregrounding this ethos in both their independent and collaborative work. Alongside their artistic work, they have been employed part-time in an administrative role with Curious Arts, contributing to an organisation dedicated to supporting LGBTQIA+ creativity and culture. Beyond their professional practice, Rachel volunteers with The Star and Shadow Cinema, an independent community-run venue, reflecting their longstanding interest in film and collective cultural spaces. In their spare time they go to the gym and collect Maling pottery. They are an autistic person who actively integrates lived experience into their practice, continuing to shape a career grounded in accessibility, creativity and community connection.