Emily Halban

After graduating from Oxford University, Emily moved to London to follow a diploma in Asian Art at the British Museum.

From here, she went on to develop an Art History after-school art programme for children aged 3-11. During this time, Emily wrote her first book, published by Random House (now Penguin) in 2007, a memoir of her recovery from anorexia with a focus on de-stigmatising mental illness. In 2008, Emily was invited to speak about her writing at the International Therapeutic Patient Education Congress [Budapest], to elaborate the healing role of the arts in the management of chronic illness. This experience was formative in deepening her understanding of patient-centred healthcare.

She moved to Hong Kong for a year where she continued writing, before returning to London to work in a primary school art department. After a pause dedicated to raising her three children, the development of A Space Between marked the culmination of a passionate concern for mental health and holistic wellbeing coupled with a fervent belief in - and first hand experience of - the intrinsic therapeutic values of art in all forms, for all ages.