Laura Swale is a former UK secondary school art teacher and head of department of fifteen years. Following her relocation to Malta

in 2017 Laura left her teaching career to become an entrepreneur. Her company Allura runs various projects and initiatives in the Arts and cultural sectors in Malta. For its work Allura received a Medal for Creativity from the World Intellectual Property Organisation and first prize in the creative category of the Malta Intellectual Property Awards 2019. In 2017 Allura was recognised with an award in the creative category of the Malta Innovation Awards and in 2018 made it the finals of the Social Impact Awards Malta.

Laura is also the Arts and Cultural Coordinator for the Times of Malta newspaper, for which she writes articles, features, interviews and reviews, coordinates contributing writers and manages content submissions. She is also a guest speaker at the University of Malta and on the judging panel of a number of art competitions.

Laura is a practising visual artist with a BA (Hons) in illustration and graphic design and a background in fine art, illustration, textiles, printmaking and digital art. Her creative portfolio can be viewed at www.lauraswale.com. Laura sells and exhibits her work and is regularly commissioned commercially. She also has gallery experience, organising various arts events and initiatives. She also speaks, pitches and presents at networking events and conferences. Laura’s company Allura runs The Trail, a walking tour of open art studios (www.allura.com.mt) and The Malta Arts and Culture Club (The MACC) cultural website (www.themacc.mt).