Hannah Araniello Artwork

Artistic biography

My passion for creativity has been present within me since I was very small. I remember in nursery mostly spending my time at a table and contently focusing on drawing whatever came to imagination. Whenever I went out with my family I would always bring some paper and a pencil case equipped to draw whenever the moment came. My parents fostered my passion for art, taking me on trips to various art galleries such as the Tate Modern. I remember how my younger self strongly disapproved of certain pieces of modern art work on display, particularly when the canvas was filled with incoherent scribbles and imagined how I could do a better job. However, with age and experience I became more open-minded to understand that art is inclusive and never a competition, in fact we should encourage everyone to express themselves creatively. If everyone allocated sometime do express themselves through art perhaps the world may be a slightly better place?

Whilst at secondary school I decided to take art and music GCSEs and later Art A level. Despite keeping my hand in art, i chose a more academic path pursuing psychology at university and later a neuropsychology masters abroad in the Netherlands. During my early twenties I gained work experience in different community and clinical setting, from working in specialist schools to working within NHS mental health services. Despite navigating in a more typically clinical direction I was unable to truly feel centred in myself without having the balance of artistic creativity as part of my lifestyle. Which led me to make the decision to continue creating art alongside my working life.

Art has been ray of hope in reminding me of who I am at heart whilst enduring some of the most tumultuous times in my life. My experience of art-making has taken various forms from painting and sketching to writing my own poetry and song lyrics. The act of creating is a freedom that we all deserve and should relish in. I hope that my art can offer people inspiration and encouragement to think and act creatively.