Introducing Oily Cart’s first ever Youth Associate: Lucy Bowen

We’re delighted to announce Oily Cart’s first ever Youth Associate: musician Lucy Bowen.

Youth Associate Lucy and InSideWays composer sit next to each other at a wooden table in a white studio space, during a creative jamming session for the show soundtrack. Lucy is a White female teenager with long, mid-brown hair and wears glasses. She is also a wheelchair user. She plays a pink guitar whilst holding the peg-head in her mouth. BK, an adult with a brown cap and teal t-shirt, looks on, one hand partly holding the guitar.
Lucy Bowen with composer BK Sannerud during the creative development of InSideWays. Credit: Samantha Bowen

As Youth Associate, Lucy has been working as a Creative Collaborator on our new At Home show InSideWays, a first-of-its-kind international collaboration between Oily Cart (UK), sensory producers Scen:se, and regional theatres Folkteatern Gävleborg and Estrad Norr (Sweden).

Lucy explores sound in different ways, combining acoustic sound with physical, tactile touch, and even taste. During a creative development session for InSideWays, Lucy performed on her guitar, playing with her mouth on the peghead. This method – one also used by the legendary Jimi Hendrix! – of “seeking the taste of sound” as Lucy’s parent Sam describes it, opened up the whole theme and imaginary world of the show.

Lucy also collaborated with InSideWays composer BK Sannerud, and plays on the soundtrack:

Audio clip of Lucy playing on ‘A SideWays Massage (Green Drawer) from the InSideWays soundtrack. Composer and Sound Designer: BK Sannerud.

Oily Cart’s Artistic Director, Ellie Griffiths, said:

“Over the last few years, in each project, Oily Cart has been exploring the possibilities of collaborating with young disabled artists, who communicate in many different ways, often without words. This has naturally edged closer and closer to the heart of the company’s work, and we are hugely excited to now be working with Lucy as our first official Youth Associate.

As an artist and director, I went into this first Youth Associate partnership not knowing exactly what would happen. I now know this is a pivotal moment in Oily Cart’s history. We hope we can continue to develop the Youth Associate role as a core part of what we do, making pathways where our audiences can become Oily Cart artists and generators of culture. Lucy has shown us what’s possible.”

The Youth Associate role is supported by The Garrick Charitable Trust.

Find out more about Oily Cart’s Associate Artists programme here.