BIO
lisa waud creates multi-sensory, site-specific botanical installations that explore the brief space between growth and decay, and the ways nature offers a pause button to both individuals and communities. her work uses plant-based materials to shape built environments where visitors move through shifting states of presence, memory, and sensory experience. she is currently based in the high desert of california after over a decade in detroit, michigan.
grounded in a background in horticulture and professional floral design, and influenced by land art and large-scale environmental works, lisa’s installations intervene within existing architecture, echoing natural structures to create spaces for reflection.
collaboration is foundational to her practice. lisa engages the hosting community throughout each project—from planning through exhibition and afterlife—integrating diverse voices, histories, and perspectives into the concepts and materials. . this collaborative approach expands what the installations can hold, transforming them into shared cultural experiences rather than a solitary statement.
lisa’s process is guided by environmental ethics, prioritizing low-waste production, sourcing from local growers, using found or reusable materials, and composting and recycling at project completion.
past installations include flower house detroit, petrichor, tread/tender at palais de tokyo in paris, botanical installations at oak spring garden foundation in upperville, virginia, floral set design for danny brown’s “best life” video and jimmy fallon appearance, FLORA festival in cordoba, spain, the fierce urgency of now, hiberna flores, a botanic installation for hudson yards in new york city, a botanic installation for mounts botanic garden in west palm beach, florida, and the tony awards at radio city music hall.
lisa’s projects have been featured in the new york times, huffington post, martha stewart, hyperallergic, colossal, designboom, the jealous curator, the globe and mail, detroit free press, the detroit news, detroit art review, crain’s detroit, blac magazine, washington post, and travel + leisure.
lisa has lectured at TEDxDETROIT, oak spring garden foundation, milwaukee art museum, cranbrook art museum, broad museum, henry ford museum, cleveland botanic garden, intermitten tech conference, slow flowers summit, and the evergreen state college.
lisa has received grants from detroit future city, the carhartt workshop, gretchen + ethan davidson, culture source’s flourish fund, red bull house of art, people first project supported by kresge art foundation), the belle foundation, new economy initiative, the awesome foundation, and the goldman sachs 10,000 small business program.
