Dirty Pain

by Gilliana Hope

Gilliana Hope is an avid believer in creative expression as a vital tool for healing, having turned to it throughout her entire life. With a synergy between her identities as a songwriter, singer, and writer, often she feels like a vessel for the words she composes. Her musical tales come from a brutally personal place, for better or worse. Piano and, as of late, ukulele are her musical instruments of choice. She is self-taught on her ukulele, Betty (lovingly named by her friend for her “music mother” Taylor Swift). She has self-designed her academic pursuits around creativity, culture, and social change, pairing them with her music studies. She is a vocal activist, advocating for herself and others in her communities. As president of her university’s student-run recording and podcasting studios, Gilliana strives to ensure opportunities for musicking are accessible to all. She is in the process of completing her debut EP and her work can be found on social media: