She trained in performance and social anthropology at the University of Adelaide, and worked in dance theatre until 2004. Since then, her work with socially engaged art as research method has received worldwide attention. Dr Hickey-Moody works with arts-based methods to develop stories about marginalised young people that challenge stereotypical forms of representation. Often public discourses about minority youth re-inscribe disadvantage or prejudice. Dr Hickey-Moody's research builds relationships between young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and produces new ways of representing them.