SO Festival has launched a new Outdoor Arts Development Scheme. This is a brand-new scheme dedicated to supporting artists living and/or working in Lincolnshire, looking to develop their craft, and with ideas suited for outdoor public environments.
Over the year we will support the artists through training opportunities, go-sees and idea development. We are exceptionally proud to be supporting and championing local, Lincolnshire artists and connecting their creativity with the communities and places that we work in.
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.
Here are our Supported Artists for 2025/2026
Barmpot Theatre
Barmpot Theatre are an award-winning theatre company based in Lincolnshire. They believe every child in the UK deserves equal access to the arts and culture. Over 10 years they have built a reputation for taking high-quality family theatre to rural communities, performing in both theatres and non-traditional spaces. Their signature style combines physical performance, puppetry and original music, with accessibility at its heart. 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 Gilmartin 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, with the aim of breaking down barriers to engagement with the arts.
As an award-winning artist (including four Arts Council England grants) he uses creative projects to help people see, and act on, the good in themselves and in each other.
Each of his projects helps people ask themselves three big questions:
- Who am I?
- Where am I?
- Where do I belong?
He would like the Outdoor Arts Scheme to stretch his practice further and explore making work that can be fully outdoors and pop-up and participatory in nature. He aims 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 studied Drama and Theatre at the University of Lincoln and graduated with a First Class Degree. Alongside his career as an actor, Samuel has built his skills as a puppeteer. Samuel is a founding member of Kazbah Theatre, puppeteering and co-creating performances with fellow Kazbah puppeteers. His work to date with Kazbah has been predominantly for outdoor festivals and family events in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.
Samuel is delighted to be a SO Festival Supported Artist. He hopes to build on his current skills as a puppeteer and performer in outdoor performance, to learn about different companies and practitioners and creating his own outdoor work.
