Harriet Rose Morley

Harriet Rose Morley is an artist based in Den Haag (NL), originally from the UK. Her practice explores the gender and labour politics of technical skill development across Art, Design and Architecture. Centered on the conditions of making by cultural and technical practitioners, the current iteration of this ongoing research titled ‘Hard Work, Soft Work’ not only explores “Hard Work” referring to the “hard” technical skills both taught and exchanged during processes of learning, but also thinks about “Soft Work”, referring to the often less valued, less acknowledged and rarely seen “soft” skills of communication, organisation, mediation and solidarity– skills that are proven integral to working collectively. Through accessible and collaborative methods of making, she fosters intimacy, kinship, and shared knowledge, creating space for conversation and connection among those engaged in technical practices. From 2023 till 2025, she was the co-director of the artists advocacy organisation Platform BK, and she is currently a tech fellow at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam.

'Waste Not, Want Not: An Incomplete Manual for Artists, Technicians and Workshops' is a living resource that documents the often-unseen adaptations, hacks and inclusive practices within workshops, offering insight into more accessible, sustainable and supportive ways of working.

'Waste Not, Want Not: An Incomplete Manual for Artists, Technicians and Workshops' grows directly from the artist’s experience of working within workshops – spaces that function not only as sites of production but also as places of learning, exchange and inclusion. Designed as an evolving resource for artists, technicians and organisations, the manual brings together case studies, interviews and examples from residencies across Northern Europe and the UK.

Throughout the research, sustainability is approached from two interdependent perspectives: ecological (materials, energy use and environmental impact) and holistic (accessibility, social ecology and the ways people inhabit shared spaces). These dimensions continuously shape one another; decisions about materials influence how people work, while workshop layouts, tools and cultures affect safety, inclusion and energy use.

Observing the small but meaningful adjustments and “hacks” people employed to improve these conditions raised a central question: how is this knowledge being shared, and how might workshops benefit from bringing these practices into collective awareness? The manual foregrounds these often-unseen adaptations to support more equitable, sustainable, adaptable and resilient ways of working together in workshop environments.