New scheme supports outdoors artists in Lincolnshire

The Outdoor Arts Development Scheme is being promoted by Magna Vitae – the organisers of the annual coastal arts festival SO Fest.

Over the year, artists will be supported through training opportunities, go-sees and idea development. Kieran Spiers, Creative Producer for SO Festival, said "We had a great response to the call-out for applications and we are very fortunate to be supporting three Lincolnshire-based artists with the development of their craft, creativity and skills.

"This is the first time SO Festival has run this type of scheme and we were so pleased to see so many artists and projects being pitched to us." Supported Artists for 2025/2026 are: Barmpot Theatre Barmpot Theatre are an award-winning theatre company based in Lincolnshire. They have built a reputation for taking high-quality family theatre to rural communities, performing in both theatres and non-traditional spaces. Jane from Barmpot Theatre commented: "We are passionate about telling untold Lincolnshire stories, and contributing to the development of Lincolnshire's cultural ecology.

"As part of SO Festival's Outdoor Arts Development scheme, we hope to gain more knowledge around creating performances for outdoor settings, working in protected landscapes, and developing a new outdoor performance installation for family audiences." Ryan Gilmartin Ryan is Lincolnshire born and bred and loves making work for and about the people of Lincolnshire. His projects bring meaningful experiences into everyday places where people already gather, such as cafes, shops and pubs. He said: "I aim to stretch my practice further and explore making work that can be fully outdoors and pop-up and participatory in nature. I want to explore a few outdoor ideas that mix theatre, visual art and installation, work that is more ‘guerrilla’ and pop-up in nature." Samuel Pearson Samuel is an actor, performer, and puppeteer based in North East Lincolnshire. He commented: "I'm delighted to be a SO Festival Supported Artist. I hope to build on my skills as a puppeteer and performer in outdoor performance, to learn about different companies and practitioners and creating my own outdoor work."