Gemma is a documentary photographer and filmmaker working on projects that explore identity and belonging. Through her studies in Geography she became drawn to photography as a way to visualise an ongoing fascination with the relationship between people and place.
Gemma has worked in visual art for more than 15 years, and specialises in using photography, film, and audio to create factual content for a range of clients and community organisations in her home of Sheffield, UK and beyond. She has lived, travelled and worked extensively in China and her first feature documentary, ‘Shanghai Blues’, is in production.
She gained her MA in International Documentary Photography and Photojournalism in China in 2007, has a BA (Hons) in Geography from The University of Sheffield, and has taken courses in Chinese at Sichuan Southwest University for Nationalities in Chengdu, China, and Documentary Filmmaking at EICTV, International School of Film & Television in Cuba. She speaks English and Chinese (Mandarin).
Gemma is expanding her work into immersive storytelling and was Creative Producer on the 2022 SXSW-nominated and Focal International/Webby Award-winning project StoryTrails, led by StoryFutures Academy. She teaches on the MA Visual Journalism & Storytelling course at the University of Greater Manchester.