Celebrating the Micro Residency Programme at Everybody Arts
Celebrating Our Micro Residency Programme at The Everybody Gallery!
As part of our exciting journey to becoming a charity, we are thrilled to have launched our Micro Residency Programme, which saw 13 incredible artists use The Everybody Gallery as a space for experimentation, exploration, and creation through 2024.
These micro residencies provided each artist with one week (or more!) to test new ideas, develop existing work, or bring a project to life in a large, flexible space. These residencies have been a hub of dynamic art experiences: from installations and large-scale artworks to filmmaking, photography, and making time for creative reflection.
The micro residency programme has provided a creative haven for artists to push boundaries, develop their practice, and connect with the local community here at Everybody Arts. Whether through bold visual storytelling, intricate installations, or community-driven projects, these residencies have enriched our gallery and inspired us all.
We can’t wait to see what comes next as we continue to support and celebrate the vibrant artistic community here at Everybody Arts. Stay tuned for more updates as these incredible artists take their work to new heights!
✨ Thank you to all the artists, and to everyone who joined us on this creative journey! ✨
Let’s take a closer look at a few of the talented artists who have taken part…
Rawan Hassan – Abstract Identity
Rawan, a Syrian artist and filmmaker, brought her powerful abstract paintings to life, exploring themes of trauma, life events, and inner struggles. Her work, inspired by human stories and personal experiences, is a captivating blend of joy and psychological depth that uses bold colours and textures to create emotionally resonant pieces. During her residency, Rawan experimented with abstract portraiture, pushing her creative boundaries in search of the best expression for each subject.
Laura Marker – Quiet Earth II
Building on her previous project, Quiet Earth II, Laura's residency delved deeper into the themes of habitat loss and biodiversity fragmentation. Her unique projection-based installations explored ancient and modern spaces through layered imagery, reflecting both the past and future of our environment. Laura’s residency allowed her to refine techniques and concepts that will shape her future projects.
Adelle A’Asante – Kokoo Heritage
Adelle, a storyteller deeply rooted in West African Griot traditions, led a week of creation and experimentation for her Chocolate Has a Name project. Through a community-driven artwork, she used cocoa as both an art medium and a connection to the past, shining a light on marginalised communities. Her residency culminated in a beautiful cocoa bean collage, laying the groundwork for her upcoming festival in 2024.
Mooncoin Lucas – Two Years Ago
Mooncoin, a photographer and creative writing practitioner, used her residency to explore themes of love, memory, and loss. With a diverse artistic practice spanning photography, multimedia installations, and painting, Mooncoin’s work reflects on human fragility in the face of unexpected loss, creating a deeply emotional and personal body of work.
Laura Timmis – Becoming
Laura Timmis brought an incredibly personal performance piece to her residency, where she explored the different stages of her life through a walking meditation. Dripping paint in a continuous line, she created a unique abstract vista that symbolized the passage of time and her personal journey. Having transitioned from engineering to art, Laura’s work is a fascinating blend of precision and fluidity, reflecting her own life’s evolution. Her time in the gallery allowed her to delve deeper into this balance between technicality and creativity.
Nana-Essi Casely-Hayford – Red Mother Earth
Nana-Essi’s residency, Red Mother Earth, celebrated African culture, history, and identity through a powerful visual narrative. She created a community-focused project using natural materials such as calabash, cocoa, and loofah sponge, connecting visitors to the African landscape and heritage. This vibrant project will evolve into a larger exhibition later this year, but during her time in the gallery, Nana-Essi sparked important conversations about African heritage and cultural preservation.
AduAmani – Ananse Ntentan: Wisdom and Heritage
AduAmani, a fashion designer and cultural storyteller from Ghana, used her residency to explore Black history, sustainability, and resilience through fashion. Her project, Ananse Ntentan, drew on Ghanaian folklore and created pieces modelled by 'Kayayo', also known as head porter, reflecting their strength and resilience. Through vibrant and colourful fashion pieces made from recycled materials, AduAmani highlighted migration, strength, and sustainability, turning fashion into a medium for storytelling and empowerment.
Stevie-Leigh Sanderson – My Evolution
Stevie-Leigh, part of our New Creatives programme, explored her passion for art through therapeutic mixed-media work during her residency. Using mostly recycled materials, Stevie’s project, My Evolution, took visitors on a cosmic journey blending her fascination with the universe and a deep focus on mental health. Her work not only showed the healing power of creativity through over 200 pieces of work from her junk journals created over a two-year period.
Clare Harford – Paper Explosions
Clare’s residency was an exciting time of large-scale experimentation. Working with environmentally conscious materials like paper and card, Clare created abstract, process-led wall and floor pieces that burst out of two dimensions into three; transforming the gallery into a dynamic and immersive installation.
Daniel Elijah – A Word is a Painting (and Other Similes)
During his micro-residency, Daniel Elijah took full advantage of the gallery space to push the boundaries of his artistic practice. He produced an expansive collection of works, experimenting with bold and unexpected colour palettes, as well as dynamic compositions. Through this playful exploration of both colour and text, Daniel's residency not only led to the creation of visually striking pieces but also helped him to reimagine his artistic approach and discover new possibilities in his work.
Zephie – River of Stones
Zephie’s residency was a deep dive into the history, folklore, and environmental significance of the River Calder, one of the most polluted rivers in the UK. Using natural materials found by the river, including clay and plant fibres, she created sculptures and costumes to explore our connection to waterways. Visitors were invited to contribute to the project by making small votive offerings and participating in a collective textile-based artwork, symbolizing hopes for the river’s future. The project will culminate in a film where Zephie wears the costume in a meditative walk along the river, bringing people’s wishes for environmental healing to life.
Sarah O’Boyle – Meanderings
Sarah O’Boyle’s residency focused on the intersection of nature, structure, and repetition. As a woven textiles artist, Sarah used her time to explore large-scale drawings and woven pieces inspired by natural forms and organic structures. Her work, rooted in both academic and therapeutic drawing processes, developed into a series of abstract forms that highlighted the balance and equal value of process and outcome.
Michaela Lesayova - Emergence
During her micro-residency, Michaela explored the concept of ‘emergence’, both in her creative practice and in the natural world. Reflecting on the philosophical idea that something new and complex can only arise when different elements interact, she drew parallels between her own artistic growth and the transformative power of natural plant dyes. This residency allowed Michaela to experiment, using the knowledge she gained during her Develop Your Creative Practice grant project (supported by Arts Council England), while also delving into how natural colour evokes emotion and connects with those who experience her work.
