Lancaster Arts TEST Residency: On LAND 2025 with Lucy Wright

Our TEST residencies are week-long, hands-on experiences where artists and academics come together to try out new ideas, experiment across disciplines, and spark creative collaborations. 

In January 2025, we kicked off the first residency, On LAND, with poet Kate Fox – read more here. Our second residency took place in June and July, with artist Ellie Harrison collaborating with colleagues from Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) and LICA – find out more here. This September, we launch the final residency in the series with artist Lucy Wright. 

About Lucy 

Lucy Wright is a Leeds-based, working-class, neurodivergent artist. Her practice blends performance, craft, and community projects, often inspired by hidden or overlooked British folk traditions, especially those led by working-class women and other marginalised communities.

Collaboration and Exploration 

During the residency, Lucy will work with an interdisciplinary team of Lancaster University researchers exploring different aspects of LAND: Dr. Emma Cardwell, Dr Georgina Collins, Dr. Philip Dickinson, Professor Jessica Dubow, Dr Kai Heron, and Professor Imogen Tyler from Sociology. 

The residency will include field trips, discussions, creative experiments, and reflective sessions, guided by input and provocations from the Lancaster Arts team. 

Together, they will explore (soft) borders and boundaries, looking at place through the lens of folklore and storytelling. 

To find out more about this residency and our wider LAND programme, contact Creative Producer Alice at alice@lancasterarts.org. 

What is Lucy Testing? 

Lucy says: 

"The past two years I’ve been busy with exhibitions, but this focus on outcomes hasn’t left much space for open-ended exploration. This residency gives me the chance to dive into the ‘bosky undergrowths’ of my work, try new approaches, and see what ideas grow." 

We can’t wait to welcome Lucy and the academic team at the end of September and see where these creative adventures lead. 

About Lucy Wright 

Lucy Wright’s sculptural practice sits at the intersection of folklore and activism, shaped by over a decade of research into contemporary and female-led folk traditions. 

She was formerly the lead singer of BBC Folk Award-nominated band Pilgrims’ Way, completed a PhD at Manchester School of Art, and was Visiting Research Fellow in Folklore at the University of Hertfordshire. 

Her work has appeared in solo and group exhibitions across the UK, alongside residencies, commissions, and press coverage in The Sunday Times Style and Weird Walk. 

In 2025, Lucy spoke at the British Academy and contributed to Claire Bishop’s Ancestral Avant-gardes. She is also the author of Folk is a Feminist Issue and creator of Dusking, a self-invented tradition inviting people to dance the sun down.