About the Artist
Ju left her career as a social worker returning to her first love of writing and the arts after the death of her mum, a late diagnosis of autism and having been a missing person in 2017. She is an established blogger, published musician, poet, painter and public speaker whose past experiences range from winning The James Herbert Special Illustrators Award culminating in a group exhibition in Londons’ Covent Garden opened by Sir David Attenborough, to a Princes Trust exhibition for the then HRH Prince of Wales 40th birthday. Ju was one of the earlier artists to have benefited from The Princes Trust sponsorship after overcoming extreme hardship in her teenage years. In 2016 she was a finalist of the National Open Mic competition, performing her original songs to key industry representatives and playing twice at Birminghams National Exhibition Centre. Ju was keynote speaker at the International Conference on Missing Children and Adults in 2019 and has appeared on BBC Songs of Praise, The One Show and CBS television USA in support of The Missing People Choir and the work of the Missing People charity. Ju’s story of diagnosis and recovery has been published in Community Care, The Guardian and The Northern Big Issue, she draws inspiration from both her professional and lived experience and describes herself as a person simply looking for the bridge that will enable a more inclusive and respectful acceptance of one another. Ju reflects candidly within her writing, painting, music and speaking upon having lived for the majority of her life as an undiagnosed autistic person and now seeks through her own creative expression to encourage and support others through their own recovery from mental health distress, complex trauma, misdiagnosis and autistic burn out. In 2024 she was invited to speak on hidden disability and the impact of accessing services at The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Business of Cricket Awards Conference at Edgbaston Stadium.
Ju Blencowe 