Michelle Atherton

Michelle Atherton is a Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at Sheffield Hallam University's Department of Art and Design, part of the College of Social Sciences and Arts. Her research focuses on environmental challenges, transience, and material dynamics through experimental sound and installation art. She leads the MFA & MA Fine Art program and co-convenes The Informal Gathering, a forum for radical artistic engagement with ecological issues. Her work has been exhibited globally, including at the Museum für Sepulkralkultur (Germany), Grand Union Gallery (UK), and Viborg Kunsthal (Denmark). Key projects include Soil Séance Sessions (2023–ongoing), exploring subterranean soundscapes, and Ecstatic Rot, funded by Arts Council England and UKRI. She has published in journals like E.R.O.S. Homotopia and contributed to Borrowed Time: Death, Dying and Change (art.earth, 2022).

Recent awards include the Sheffield Hallam ECRI Fellowship and grants supporting her work with international residencies in Georgia and Canada. Her research emphasizes low-carbon artistic strategies, reimagining human-environment relationships through experimental audio methods and participatory practices.

Supervision highlights include PhD candidate Jeanine Griffin’s Aura in the Post-digital and current projects on VR narratives and photographic practices. Collaborations span institutions like Bethnal Green Nature Reserve, Eden Valley Natural Burial Ground, and Soundtent.