Cleo Lake-Ayiih is a qualified dance therapist and is a research associate at Bristol University on the UKRI funded ‘Decolonising Memory : Digital Bodies In Movement’ project. Cleo gave a talk about the Decolonising Memory project at the conference. Cleo also led a dance and movement workshop using creative tools to start to form movements telling the story of Wells’ involvement in enslavement.
Cleo Lake-Ayiih is the former Lord Mayor of Bristol (2018-2019) During her term as Councillor she was instrumental in getting a Reparations and Atonement motion passed at Bristol City Council. Cleo is a founding member of campaign group Countering Colston and she made international news during her term as Lord Mayor for removing portraits of enslavers from the Lord Mayors Parlour in City Hall. As a community engagement professional, Cleo was recently the lead researcher and consultant for the pioneering Bristol Legacy Steering Group commissioned, Project T.R.U.T.H. Cleo is driven by the idea of utilising creativity, dance and expanded performance to aid civic engagement and to reframe storytelling as a resilience tool to embed cultural knowledge, empathy, understanding and cohesion.
