Emmanuella Morsi

Eighty percent of product emissions are decided at the creative stage, yet the environmental sector remains one of the UK’s least ethnically diverse industries. In response, I developed Access As A Creative Tool (AAACT)—an inclusive design framework from Studio Morsi and our community. Built through years of participatory design, AAACT provides tools for embedding accessibility, equity and nature-inspired principles as foundations for innovation.

Frustrated by the barriers faced by my two non-verbal autistic Black brothers, I began co-developing inclusive strategies with grassroots communities, creatives, academics and policymakers. The framework evolved from place-based storytelling into a scalable approach, now used nationally and internationally.

Projects such as Nature As A Resting Tool (Knowle West Media Centre), Where Do We Go When We ? and Alternative Technologies for a Just Transition explored multisensory, neurodiverse-friendly design. Internationally, From Ghana to Bristol: Reimagining Reparative Justice informed museum repatriation strategies through arts-based research.

AAACT has since expanded into an interactive toolkit, including gamified augmented playing cards for equitable decision-making. It has influenced frameworks with Channel 4, ACE, Watershed and others, while shaping policy shifts like paid reparative rest days at Pervasive Media Studio.

At Enviral, I applied AAACT’s ethos to Greenpeace UK’s The Big Plastic Count, which reached one in every 250 UK households, inspiring policy action. Now, Studio Morsi aims to scale this model sustainably, redistributing profits to fund innovation within marginalised communities worldwide.

Emmanuella Morsi is a visionary activist and action researcher working at the intersection of creative technology, climate action and civic engagement. With over a decade of experience, she is an award-winning multidisciplinary producer, Non-Executive Director of Rising Arts Agency and former Bristol City Council Culture Board member. Her work challenges and redefines inclusion, producing art that is both accessible and transformative for marginalised communities globally.

Furaha Asani

Watershed

 

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