blue and green residency
In partnership with the Centre for Cultural Ecologies in Art, Design and Architecture at Huddersfield University, we developed an exciting residency opportunity with a focus on Green and Blue wellbeing spaces.
Artist Michaela Lesayova was commissioned to undertake the residency which involved various public engagement activities and research visits throughout 2024 and 2025.
Green and blue spaces refer to natural environments such as parks, forests, lakes, rivers, and oceans. Research suggests that spending time in these environments can have significant positive effects on mental and physical well-being.
About Green and Blue Space
About the artist
Michaela Lesayova is an interdisciplinary Artist, Creative Educator and a Specialist Coach and Mentor to Creatives. Her work operates at the intersection of ecology, neurodiversity and wellbeing exploring the creativity-nature connection. Informed by her own lived experiences of migration, intergenerational trauma and repeated loss of health, her approaches and art practice explore deeply our relationship to our local environments. Michaela investigates her interests through accessing and engaging with local natural resources. Her art practice spans natural dyeing, making inks from plants and flowers, and immersive installations which she often shares in a community set up through social art practice.
Reflections from Residency
As her residency came to a close, Mishka brought together her findings in this beautifully crafted collection of reflections. We encourage you to take a moment to explore and reflect with her.
About the residency
Mishka’s time on the residency was marked by curiosity, research, and a deep creative engagement with the subject of green and blue spaces for wellbeing. Connections, visits and collaborations were made with a range of Green and Blue spaces across the region, as well as the practitioners who work within these spaces. It was wonderful to get an insight into Mishka’s creative process as she developed her practice through the residency.
A highlight of the residency was a special event organised by Mishka, titled Embracing Place. The event comprised an afternoon of creativity, sharing, and reflection on our relationships with and experiences in green and blue spaces.
At this event grower Steve Smith from Edibles Farm and herbalist and forager Hannah-May Batley, shared insights from their work in green spaces. Gentle creative activities were offered by artist and community gardener Cherry Styles, alongside Mishka. They discussed walks in the woods, swims in lakes, foraging for herbs, and cultivating produce — everyday activities that often go unnoticed. Together with participants, they considered what these practices truly meant to us, and what impact they had on our wellbeing, creativity, and health. Discussions also took place in the surroundings of a pop-up exhibition of artworks created by Hannah-May Batley and Mishka.
About The Centre For Cultural Ecologies In Art, Design And Architecture (University Of Huddersfield)
Our ambition as a research centre is to provide a space for collaboration, knowledge and cultural exchange between academics, students (postgraduate and undergraduate), creative communities and cultural organisations. We encourage collaborations that will develop new ecologies of thinking and making across a broad range of themes and topics. We support opportunities for interdisciplinary working across the arts and humanities and encourage participation and engagement in our public realm programmes.
