Dominique De-Light

Dominique, an ARU Vice Chancellor Scholar, is currently researching the wellbeing impact of community creative writing programmes on adults aged 55 plus. She is an expert on community creative writing programmes, with a background as a lived-experience arts practitioner specialising in engaging underrepresented groups and training arts and health facilitators.

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn

Background

Dominique’s portfolio career has included travel writing, being the founder and CEO of two charities, and working as a carnival costume maker. She currently works as a PhD researcher, creative health consultant, and creativity and wellbeing coach. Dominique is a co-founder of Creative Future, a national arts charity supporting underrepresented artists and writers, where she established the Creative Future Writers’ Awards. Dominique was also the founder of Well Balanced Kids, a charity teaching yoga and mindfulness to socially deprived children and young people. Since 2002, she has worked creatively with people with complex needs and raised over £1.5 million for community arts projects from funders such as the Arts Council, the NHS, local authorities and the European Social Fund.

Her mixed methods research, including creative methodology, focuses on the wellbeing impact of community creative writing programmes. As a researcher with lived experience, Dominique is especially interested in arts and health research relating to underrepresented communities. She gained her MA in Creative Writing from UEA, has worked as a professional mentor for LAPIDUS, and is the lead facilitator for the Creative Health Network, Sussex. Dominique is a passionate advocate for underrepresented writers and the transformative power of creative writing.

Research interests

• Arts and health/creative health
• Writing and wellbeing, especially fiction and life-writing
• Engaging underrepresented groups
• Co-production and co-design
• Social prescribing

Qualifications

• Coaching qualification, Relational Dynamics 1st
• MA in Creative Writing, University of East Anglia
• PGCE in post compulsory education, University of Brighton
• BSC (Econ) Government and History, London School of Economics

Memberships, editorial boards

• Associate Member, Cambridge Writing Centre, Anglia Ruskin University
• Associate Member, Centre for Arts and Wellbeing, Brighton University

Selected recent publications

Articles:

De-Light, D. 2021. Write Yourself to Better Mental Health, Culture, Health & Wellbeing Alliance.

De-Light, D. 2011. ‘The Midnight Robber from Leeds,’ in Bolton, G., Field, V. and Thompson, K. (eds.) Writing Routes, 1st edn. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London. pp 64-66

De-Light, D. 2006. ‘Voices from the Streets: The Brighton Big Issue Writing Group’ in Bolton, G., Field, V. and Thompson, K. (eds.) Writing Works: A Resource Handbook for Therapeutic Writing Workshops and Activities. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London. pp147-150

De-Light, D. 2006 ‘Write for Life’, in Homeless in Brighton: Roofless, Queenspark Books, Brighton, pp80-92

De-Light, D. 2005. ‘Working with the Homeless’ LAPIDUS Journal, Autumn 2005

De-Light, D. 2005. ‘Voices from the Street’ Survivors Poetry, Autumn 2005

De-Light, D. 2005. “I keep a pen where I once kept a knife” The Guardian, 1.2.05

Books:

De-Light, D. 2002. ‘Trinidad and Tobago’. Rough Guide to the Caribbean, 1st edn. Rough Guides, London. pp 719-771

De-Light, D. 1999.’Dominique’s a mas maker, not a lady!’ Women Travel: A Rough Guide Special, 4th edn. Rough Guides, London. pp 582-588

De-Light, D. & Thomas, P. 1997. Rough Guide to Trinidad & Tobago. 1st edn. Rough Guides, London. Also co-authored 2nd, 3rd and 4th editions (2001, 2004, 2007)

Recent presentations and conferences

• De-Light, D. 2025. Can community creative writing programmes encourage community integration? More Culture, Less Medicine Conference, Brighton. 14 February 2025
• De-Light, D. 2024. Evaluating creative writing’s impact on wellbeing. Lapidus Living Research Community online webinar. 2 November 2024
• De-Light, D. 2024. Reflections on the Researcher Experience, Doctoral Training Alliance, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. 11 July 2024
• De-Light, D. 2024. Can Writing Lead to Better Health? Cambridge Arts, Health and Wellbeing Network online webinar. 12 June 2024
• De-Light, D. 2024. The therapeutic effects of creative writing. Invited to facilitate a roundtable discussion. Centre for Arts and Wellbeing, University of Brighton. 6 March 2024
• De-Light, D. 2024. Can Creative Writing Lead to Better Health? AHESS PGR Conference, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. 7 February 2024

Media experience

Whilst a travel writer, Dominique wrote articles on Caribbean culture for Caribbean Way, Time Out to T&T, and Tobago Today. In her role as Creative Future CEO and artist-in-residence at The Big Issue, Brighton, and the First Base Day Centre, Brighton, she appeared on local radio and television numerous times, discussing the transformative power of creativity and advocating for unrepresented communities.