ALLY ZLATAR is an artist, scholar, and activist. She is the founder of The Starving Artist, an initiative that uses creative expression as a platform for advocacy and systemic reform. She also established The Starving Artist Scholarship Fund, which helps individuals access inpatient mental health treatment. Her project, "This Body of Mine," explores migrant experiences through creative expression and has supported individuals and artists from refugee-seeking backgrounds around the world.

Zlatar has received numerous accolades for her humanitarian work, including recognition on Forbes 30 Under 30 for Social Impact (Asia, 2025), the Commonwealth Innovation Awards (2023), UN Women 30 for 2030 (2024), the Princess Diana Legacy Award (2021), the King Hamad Award for Youth Empowerment (2022), the Lieutenant Governor’s Community Volunteer Award from the Government of Ontario (2023), and special recognition from the British Citizen Award (2022).

She holds a BFA in Visual Art and Art History from Queen’s University, an MLitt in Curatorial Practice and Contemporary Art from the Glasgow School of Art, and a Doctorate in Creative Arts from the University of Southern Queensland, where her research focused on embodied experiences of mental illness in contemporary art. Zlatar is currently a Lecturer at the University of Sharjah and has previously taught at the University of Glasgow, KICL London, and the University of Essex (UEIC).

Through her work, Zlatar uses art as a means to explore the complexities of the human condition, with a particular focus on illness, vulnerability, and authenticity. Drawing from personal experience and autoethnography, she seeks to drive change through art activism, recognizing the power of examining the unwell body to spark dialogue and foster societal impact.

More of her work may be appreciated on her website and Instagram account.