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Vanessa Grasse

@vgrasse

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Multidisciplinary Artist~Choreographer ~Dancer~ Relational Dynamics Coach~ Somatic Stress Release~Somatic Movement facilitator

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Looking back. Elysia 28th March 2026 Leeds Art Gallery.

How can we sense ourselves as mulstispicies? How can this awareness foster multispecies kinship and more care for our ecosystems?

We embodied our symbiotic relationship with the microbial worlds of our guts and soil. Shapeshifting and morphing into relationality with other species.

Microbial life is foundamental for ecosystems to thrive and with more microbial than human genes we are hybrid mulstispicies beings. Fibers thread our inseparable bond with microbes, plants and soil. Growing from soil and fermenting inside to feed our microbs, who then shape our health, moods and body-mind connection.

Let yourself be compost and soil, be your microbial skin and gut, be fibers, be in metamorphosis.
Welcome and practice shapeshifting into other parts of you, into other species, into the unknown and invisible, into speculative and more ecological futures.

Longer video of the performance coming soon!

Video @kamalmac_
Cover photo @jamesmulkeen

Soft Sculptures & masks: Vanessa Grasse
Choreography: Vanessa Grasse in collaboration with the dancers. Dancers: @tora_hed , @stefaniapinato , @anastasiasheldon
Music: Composition by @craig_scotts_lobotomy, in collaboration with @ozzymoysey and @dover.oliver featuring past & present members of the @ancientinfinityorchestra with additional contributions from @dunja_botic ,Jake Mehew and Steve Becker
Dancers’ costumes: @erwdesigns
Plants curation:Tanya Cusan @cusantheatre
Sculpture technical assistance: @marcellacastellobiodanza ,Tanya Cusan
Dramaturgy assistance: @benandtheotter
Stage Manager: Charlotte Woods Production assistant: @kirstyredhead

Partners & funders: Stage@leeds, @leedsartgallery, The Cultural Institute/ @universityofleeds , Arts Council England @aceagrams ,@ioucreationcentre , @yorkshiredancepictures, @lerea.aps , NAPIC, @create_no8

#microbiome #ecosculpture #elysia #wearableart ecoart taken in Leeds, England, UK by @vgrasse

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2 months ago

ELYSIA explores the invisible worlds of gut and soil microbiomes, revealing our inherent hybridity, rooted in deep symbiosis between humans, microbes, and plants.

Blending choreography, sculpture, ecological fibre art, eco-somatics, myth, and microbial science, the installation features large wearable sculptures made from dried and living plants, compostable and recycled materials that come alive as dancers and audiences merge with them.

SATURDAY 28th MARCH - 12pm & 3pm @leedsartgallery (free to attend)

For more info follow the link in bio

——

Project partners: @aceagrams , @ioucreationcentre , @leedsartgallery , @stageatleeds , @universityofleeds , @yorkshiredancepictures

Dancers: @anastasiasheldon @tora_hed @stefaniapinato
Collaborators: @benandtheotter , @inarsson , @cusantheatre , @erwdesigns , @ancientinfinityorchestra , @craig_scotts_lobotomy , @ozzymoysey

🎥 @kamalmac_

Cover photo @jamesmulkeen taken in Leeds Art Gallery by @vgrasse

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6 months ago

Here is our mini documentary of Elysia 2024 R&D, put together by the talented @eleanor.sikorski.

🔄 Rotate your phone to watch.

Elysia is a project about human hybridity, microbiomes, multispecies interconnection and care for our environments. After a wonderful initial funded R&D period we are planning the new stages of development of our performance, workshops and more. We look forward to sharing the work in Leeds at the end of November at the NAPIC scientific research launch event. We welcome new collaborations from the dance, performing arts, art galleries, science and academic communities. If you are interested in partnering, offering commission, seed-funds, hosting a workshop/talk or performance please get in touch vanessagrasse@yahoo.com

thanks to all artistic collaborators, mentors and partners
@stefaniapinato @bakanipickup @fionacampbellartist @alisongracedance @benandtheotter @cusantheatre @jreimes @angelawildgardens, Joe Knowles, Gerry Turvey, Marcella Castello, Kieran Tuohy, Serena Turton-Hughes, @clarissacallesen #creatingwithcourage @inarsson @universityofleeds, @aceagrams @stageatleeds The Cultural Institute @create_no8 @the_hopbarn @yorkshiredancepictures

#elysia #wearableart #wearablesculpture #ecosculpture #microbiome #choreography #ecoart #ecoartist #ecosomatics #danceimprovisation #hybridspecies #hybridity #hybridbodies #interspecies #guthealth #soilmicrobiology #outdoorarts #performanceart #performanceartists #performativesculpture #symbioticrelationship by @vgrasse

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2 years ago

What a great day today in Mustikkamaa Blueberries island, filming Elysia with @inarsson and @aurorasuho / @aurorasuhonenphoto as part of my artistic residency with CSSM Center for the Social Studies of Microbes, Helsinki University

Film and photos coming soon

#softsculpture #microbiome #hybridity #morethanhuman #outdoorart taken in Mustikkamaa, Helsinki by @vgrasse

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2 months ago

I am incredibly grateful for these first 3 months of artistic residency in Helsinki, Finland at The Center for the Social Studies of Microbes with my creative project & research ELYSIA.

I have had the privilege to meet and exchange with social scientists researchers and other artists such as @repettisonja @ramona_haegele @leinooona ,@teemu_lehmusruusu @maija_annikki @ionafrancesca ,@inarsson @rnarihma @taljaliisa @kirsty_hendry Nikolai Siimes, @saana.maarit , Mara Linden, @casualmouldy @mohole , Salla Sariola, @knutillaart @devinaboughton and others, nerding about microbiomes, multispecies, holobiont, fermebtation, vaguse nerve, hybridity, shapeshifting, becoming more like algae and more.

I have been leading 'Microbial Somatics' movement sessions; developing Elysia wearable sculptires; exploring imagery and movement about 'multispecies skin'. A research trip to Nagu island collecting and observing cyanobacteria from the Baltic Sea. Experiencing the work of @alma.heikkila @eyesasbigasplates, Magdalena Abakanowicz , @fernorchestra @rosatolnovclausen amongst many others.
.. And enjoying celebrating Finnish Midsummer, exploring the amazing landscspe with family and dancing at Midnight Sun contact festival.

Looking forward to my next 3 months with further exchanges. And preparing for our collective exhibition and performance at Solu @bioartsociety at the end of October.

#microbiome #ecosomatics #bioart #helsinki #artscience taken in Helsinki by @vgrasse

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2 months ago

What can a single drop of Baltic Sea water teach us?

Last week, @vgrasse @maija_annikki @repettisonja @teemu_lehmusruusu and I gathered in Nagu, in the Turku Archipelago, for a day of exchanges across artistic research and the social and natural sciences. Together, we explored different ways of knowing and sensing water.
We collected water samples from the Baltic Sea and looked at them under the microscope. Within a single drop, entire worlds emerged: phytoplankton, cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates, and countless other microscopic organisms - revealing the complexity and vitality of the waters we so often take for granted.
Our conversations moved between microscopy and movement, scientific observation and artistic practice, asking how we might make sense of water differently. We shared work spanning performance, choreography and somatics, site-responsive practice, visual arts, photography, diving, and interdisciplinary research on marine ecosystems and algal blooms.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who brought their unique perspectives and practices and made their way to Nagu despite the heavy rain.

A reminder that meaningful conversations often happen where disciplines meet and where curiosity leads us to look more closely, whether through a microscope, with our bodies, or through artistic practice.

Here’s to many more encounters across waters, disciplines, and ways of knowing 🌊

#artisticresearch #morethanhuman #algalbloom #cyanobacteria #balticsea taken in Nagu Framnäs by @vgrasse

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2 months ago

ELYSIA Sat 28 March 2026 We had two beautiful performances at @leedsartgallery Thank you to the whole amazing creative team and all partners for making this possible, and everyone who came to share this hybrid, microbial and interspecies connection journey with us.

Soft Sculptures & masks: Vanessa Grasse
Choreography: Vanessa Grasse in collaboration with the dancers. Dancers: @tora_hed , @stefaniapinato , @anastasiasheldon
Music: Composition by @craig_scotts_lobotomy, in collaboration with @ozzymoysey and @dover.oliver featuring past & present members of the @ancientinfinityorchestra with additional contributions from @dunja_botic ,Jake Mehew and Steve Becker
Dancers’ costumes: @erwdesigns
Plants curation:Tanya Cusan @cusantheatre Sculpture technical assistance: @marcellacastellobiodanza ,Tanya Cusan
Dramaturgy assistance: @benandtheotter
Stage Manager: Charlotte Woods Production assistant: @kirstyredhead

Thanks to:
Local growers and foragers: Tanya Cusan and Jo Knowles at Hovingham Allotment, Stephen Heelas at Miry Carr & The Old Vicarage, Paul and Catherine at Red Kite Garden, Ben Skinner.

Leeds University researchers: Kieran Tuohy (gut microbiome); Serena Turton-Hughes (woodland microhabitats); Darren Greetham (fermentations).

2024-2026 R&D artists,partners & creative consultants: Dancers @bakanipickup , @inarsson , Ben Skinner. Eco Sculptor mentor @fionacampbellartist .Creative consultations by artists Jo Knowels and @angelawildgardens on weaving and basketry, artist @beexbeth on living textile and biodesign. Creative scores by @alisongracedance Gerry Turvey, @jreimes Lerea association in Sicily, Italy; The Hop Barn; @create_no8 ,NAPIC National Alternative Protein Innovation Center. Thanks to all the plants, fibers and microbiomes. Cover photo @jamesmulkeen

Funded by @aceagrams Partners & support by @leedsartgallery , @stageatleeds (PAD scheme); @ioucreationcentre (STTA scheme); @yorkshiredancepictures; @universityofleeds : The Cultural Institute and Faculty of Environment #ecosculpture #ecosomatics #elysia #ecoart #choreography #artscience #microbiome taken in Leeds Art Gallery by @vgrasse

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6 months ago

𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝 is an
ＯｐｅｎＣａｌｌ
for local and international artists working with eco-embodied methodologies, for the submission of 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐂 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐔𝐀𝐋 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐒 for a multi-venue collective exhibition taking place in the Etna area in SICILY in OCTOBER 2026.

D̳E̳A̳D̳L̳I̳N̳E̳:̳ ̳3̳0̳ ̳M̳a̳y̳ ̳2̳0̳2̳6̳

🅟🅐🅡🅣🅘🅒🅘🅟🅐🅣🅘🅞🅝: 🅕🅡🅔🅔 🅞🅕 🅒🅗🅐🅡🅖🅔

Link in bio

#MeetingYourLand #callforartists
#LaPoesiaDellEssere #visualarts #ecoembodied by @vgrasse

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6 months ago

ELYSIA - part of the PLANT DREAMING exhibition at @leedsartgallery

Join us for a visceral, sculptural, and playful performative installation, where hybrid creatures, bodies, plants, and natural materials merge in metamorphosis.

ELYSIA explores the invisible worlds of gut and soil microbiomes, revealing our inherent hybridity, rooted in deep symbiosis between humans, microbes, and plants.

Performances 28th March - 12 midday and 3pm. The performance are free to attend, no booking is required. taken in Leeds Art Gallery by @vgrasse

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7 months ago

ELYSIA WORKSHOP __

Join a movement-based and multidisciplinary workshop to experience some of the practices and questions that underpin the upcoming Elysia performance.

Through guided movement explorations and engagement with natural materials, you are invited to explore ideas of hybridity, microbial interdependence, plant–human relations and multispecies embodiment.

Saturday 21st March — 11:30 - 13:30

There is no cost to this event but @leedsartgallery is a Give What You Can gallery. Limited capacity, therefore booking is essential —> link in bio taken in Leeds Art Gallery by @vgrasse

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7 months ago

Catch a glimpse into the unfolding world of Elysia.

A little window into the process, movement, imagination, and the small moments that shape a work.

We’ve just closed a beautiful week of creation in residency at @ioucreationcentre. Thank you for having for us.

For the next two weeks we continue the journey at @leedsartgallery ahead of our performances on 28 March at 12 midday and 3pm. (Free to attend)

SAVE THE DATE! We hope to see you there.

For more info follow the link in bio. taken in IOU Creation Centre by @vgrasse

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7 months ago

🌿 PLANT DREAMING EVENT: Join a movement-based and multidisciplinary workshop to experience some of the practices and questions that underpin Vanessa Grasse’s upcoming Elysia performance, which will take place on the following weekend.
Workshop is on Saturday 21 March in Central Court from 11.30am until 1.30pm.

Through creative and somatic guided movement explorations and engagement with natural materials, you are invited to explore ideas of hybridity, microbial interdependence, plant-human relations and multispecies embodiment. The workshop offers time to move, play, reflect, draw and explore with materials, both individually and together.

No prior experience is required. The workshop takes place in Central Court, which is a public space. Movers, creative practitioners of all disciplines, and anyone curious are welcome.
Please see link 🔗 in our bio to book in advance to reserve a spot, free to take part.

Vanessa Grasse @vgrasse is a multidisciplinary artist, choreographer, performer, teacher, somatic coach, and curator. Her work explores the intersection between choreography, somatics, sculpture and waking-art, creating site-responsive and participatory performances that connect us to our landscapes, ecosystems and communities.

Thanks to @aceagrams for their support. by @vgrasse

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7 months ago