Fran Liu

Fran Liu is a Taiwanese designer and artist based in London. Her work sits at the intersection of art, ecology, and architecture, with a focus on co-creation between humans and non-humans. Frans recent projects explore the role of waste and overlooked materials in our daily lives, and how these discarded substances can become the foundation for new forms of living objects, sculptures, and design practices.  

Fran blends literature, dance, architecture, and bio-integrated design to explore materials as more than matter. They carry culture, ecology, and transformative potential. Inspired by new materialism, her work treats substances as active participants in shaping spaces and relationships, connecting us more deeply to the living environment.

During her residency at Makerversity there is a plan to deepen this line of inquiry by experimenting with the transformation of waste streams into new composite materials and sculptural forms. Frans focus will be on everyday waste including; broken glass, ceramics, paper pulp, or organic matter and how these can be recombined with natural binders or even living organisms to generate functional yet poetic objects. She is also interested in how these experiments might extend beyond the studio to engage wider communities.

The residency offers a valuable opportunity to test, prototype, and share this work in a collaborative environment. Being surrounded by other designers, makers, scientists, and researchers at Makerversity provides fertile ground for dialogue and exchange. Fran is excited to learn from others in the community while contributing her own explorations of ecological materials and co-creative processes.  

Looking ahead, she see's this residency as a stepping stone toward developing a larger body of work that explores sympoietic processes—the practice of “making with.” Through this approach, I aim to open conversations about compassion, responsibility, and imagination, and about how we might design and create not against, but alongside, the natural processes that sustain us

You can find out more about Fran's work over on our website here.

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Lili Parkes

Lili is a Kingston University graduate who creates "sculptures with a function" that blur the boundaries between design and art. Following recent art residencies in Taiwan, they focus on playful, concept-driven pieces that challenge perceptions of everyday objects, stripping ideas back to their most direct form where materials and gestures speak clearly.

Their work prioritizes storytelling and interaction over conventional utility, inviting audiences to engage with familiar objects in unexpected ways. At Makerversity, they are establishing a routine of ideation, model-making, and material exploration to bring notebook sketches to life, expanding beyond metalwork into woodworking while developing digital skills in CAD and workshop processes for better design communication and collaboration.

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Imogen Fox

Imogen Fox is a digital artist and creative technologist who creates immersive and imaginative digital experiences. A Central Saint Martins graduate with a background in Graphic Communication Design with Creative Computation, their work takes an otherworldly approach that blends reality and digital worlds with personal, playful touches across graphic design, 3D, XR, game engines, and AI.

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Their ongoing project 'cyborgovergoddess' challenges traditional notions of female beauty, inspired by Donna Haraway's concept of being a cyborg rather than a goddess. They trained an AI model on their past work to create images that reshape understanding of the human body, aiming to make viewers question perceptions of identity and self-expression in the digital age.
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At Makerversity, they are transitioning these digital assets into physical through 3D and resin printing, developing both their technical skills and a small business model while working toward an exhibition of the work.

You can find more about Imogen's work here

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Mansi Elhance

Mansi is a multidisciplinary designer specialising in product and visual design, with experience across UI/UX, illustration, and web design. Their work explores how design can connect different tools and techniques, and how people interact with systems in everyday life. Naturally experimental, Mansi enjoys diversifying their skill set. A recent Master’s graduate from the University of the Arts London with seven years of professional experience, their practice often centres on human perception and cognition.

Drawn to a hybrid of analogue and digital processes, Mansi has developed expertise through printing techniques, film and photography, woodwork, and other tactile methods. More recently, they have been exploring physical computing and interactive design, seeking ways to combine sound, visuals, and technology in experiential projects.

During their residency at Makerversity, Mansi is developing a custom MIDI controller and chess set, aiming to translate real-time data into sound patterns and experiment with different creative approaches. They are expanding their skills in sound engineering, sensors, microcontrollers, 3D design, sculpting, and various software tools. This project brings together their background in technology and visual design with new expertise in electronics and sound, supporting their progression toward a career as a creative technologist in music and interactive media. By the end of the residency, they aim to produce a working prototype that is both functional and playable.

"Come chat if you have ideas you’d like to collaborate on! I’m a knowledge enthusiast, spontaneous, and always happy to have a conversation :)"

Found out more about their work below:

Website: https://www.mansielhance.in/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mansielhance/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mansielhance/

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