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Lucy J Wright

@lucy_j_wright

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Artist / Folklorist
𝓞𝓾𝓻 𝔀𝓲𝓬 @artsheritage @createberwick
𝓦𝓲𝓵𝓭 𝓦𝓲𝓽𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼 @castlefieldgall

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I've made some new friends lately so here's a little 'storytime' about me! ❤️Pic 1: Hi, I'm Lucy. I'm an artist and a folklore researcher.Pic 2: I come from a family of folk musicians Pic 3: My Dad was a morris dancer in the 1970s (before I was born!)Pic 4: And I was the singer in a folk band, Pilgrims' Way in the early 2010s. (Our debut album even got us nominated for a BBC Folk Award 🎉)Pic 5: But I realized pretty quickly that the life of a touring musician wasn't for me. (I was bricking it here! Stage fright is real! 😅)Pic 6: I still wanted to work on folk though, so I decided to do a PhD. My Viva was on May Day 2024. (I was lucky to land a scholarship otherwise I'd never have been able to do it).Pic 7: My research was about folklore in the twenty-first century. I wanted to know what had happened to 'the folk'. The history books seemed to suggest that they'd all died out sometime around the industrial revolution - but that made no sense to me. I also wanted to know where all the women were. Almost all the folk customs I could find centred on men: women were either absent or strongly sidelined.Pic 8: My Dad had told me that morris was a 'man's dance' and that women only started dancing in the women's lib movement of the 1970s. So how come I kept finding archive photos of female morris dancers dating back decades earlier.Pic 9: it turned out that Lancashire had its own unique female-led morris dance tradition that was still thriving but had been left out of the English folk revival because no one believed that working class women in the north could be the bearers of an authentic folk culture. Pic 10: My first experiences at girls' morris competitions were intense, like nothing I'd seen before in all my years in the folk scene. They changed my life. Pic 11: They taught me that folk was still alive and kicking - especially in working class and urban communities previously disregarded by the old folk collectors. Pic 12: Over time I learned about other traditions that had evolved outside of the folk revival I'd grown up with. I've spent the last 15 years documenting some of them.(Continued below 👇😘) by @lucy_j_wright

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3 months ago

A Brigid's Cross made from Rizla packets... Thinking about ritual litter and the stuff folks leave behind in sacred spaces, inspired by a conversation with @theepecsaetanist and @tamsin_wilson the other week.Also lovely to see @sarahjoy.ford at the opening of her new installation! Day 2 of my residency at @lancasterartsuk by @lucy_j_wright

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10 months ago

Greetings from a field in Berwick...⛺I'm delighted to say that my 'Our Wic' installation is now open at @thestrawyardberwick til Thursday 16th July.This is my biggest build to date and has been such a wonderful experience!A huge thanks to all involved. More photos to follow...Lead image by @pictorial.photography. The rest by the artist.@createberwick @artsheritage by @lucy_j_wright

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12 days ago

It tickles me to think that I first imagined that folks could actually *wear* my bronze 'Our Wic' crown at the installation 🤣 I've never handled bronze before, I don't know about you...🤔It turns out that it's wild heavy, so I had to ask the mega-talented @mike_hankin of @thefolkunion and @offbeatfilm fame to draw me a paper version...As you can see, this was much more wearable - by human and animal alike! 😁Riso printed at @ootblueprint 💖@artsheritage@ourwicproject @createberwick by @lucy_j_wright

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2 days ago

It was such a whirlwind and I'm still processing it all...my biggest ever installation, one year in the making, and all done and dusted within 5 days 😅 It made me think of those people who plan weddings or other massive events which come and go in the blink of an eye...partly satisfying, partly devastating! I'd love to show the work again - and I'd love the chance to make more stuff of a similar scale - hopefully somewhere it could stay up for longer so more of you could be a part of it.I'm genuinely proud of how it turned out ❤️Pic 1 by lovely Sarah at @pictorial.photography I'm wearing my new favourite coord set from @wildclouds.co and a hat from @local_________ Also pictured @listonkate and @stringmakeranna Also Fr. Lee @vicarofberwick giving us a twirl!@ourwicproject @artsheritage @createberwick by @lucy_j_wright

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4 days ago

As feminism is concerned with the emancipation of all beings, so folk is concerned with EVERYBODY'S right to make, take part, and self organise.” - Lucy Wright @lucy_j_wright For Cabaret Mystic Lucy Wright performed The Rowland Road Rushcart with Kylie Darling and the Saddlesworth Women’s Morris & Clogg. Reinventing the northern rushbearing tradition from a feminist lens, Lucy brought Morris dancing, folkloric radicalism and Beeston’s first rushcart to Rowland Road. A thought-provoking, humorous and truly joyful performance, Lucy reminded us that folklore is something for us all to make, share and enjoy together.Lucy Wright works across visual art, performance, and critical writing to explore the spaces where folklore, feminism and cultural participation meet. Her projects often emerge from years of study into under-recognised and female-led traditions, especially those associated with her own working-class upbringing in the north - resulting in artworks that serve both as invitations and provocations.Thank you to Lucy for sharing your generous, fun filled practice and inspiring performance with us at Cabaret Mystic. Here are a few highlights from the evening, beautifully captured by Emma Bentley Fox.This event, supporting the artist community of Leeds is part of #Leeds400, a year-long celebration marking 400 years since Leeds was granted its charter in 1626. by @lucy_j_wright

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8 days ago

Some details from the 'Our Wic' throne room 👑Inspired by the Palazzo Reale in Turin and the elaborate dais crafted for May Queen / Rose Queen / Salmon Queen events - almost everything in the room is handmade... by @lucy_j_wright

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9 days ago

FOR NATURE. FOR EACHOTHER.Save the date now to join us for Wild Witness, an artist-lead walk with Lucy Wright (@lucy_j_wright) through Manchester combining walking, creative interventions and collective experiences. Designed to explore the city’s often overlooked natural environment and iconic cultural landmarks, the day will end with a community gathering.Manchester’s streets are made for parading. From protests to Pride, and from carnivals to brass band contests, processions have long brought communities together to celebrate, demonstrate and lay claim to public space.Wild Witness continues this tradition, inviting us to experience the city differently and recognise the more-than-human life already thriving alongside us, from plants emerging through cracks in the pavement to wildlife inhabiting disused sites and rewilded spaces.🗓️ SAVE THE DATE - 12 September. More info and tickets will be available in early August! #naturewalk #artwalk #manchester #artistlead by @lucy_j_wright

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9 days ago

Excerpt from the 'Our Wic' charter, playing at the @thestrawyardberwick The charter was created by redacting two important texts in Berwick-upon-Tweed history, the 1604 charter - in which the town was claimed definitively for England - and the older 16th century comic poem, 'The Freiris of Berwick', written in Middle Scots from the time when Berwick was still part of Scotland. I used the blackout method I learned from @kyvelilt to compile a new charter, focused on equity and friendship between all beings @artsheritage @createberwick @ourwicproject by @lucy_j_wright

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9 days ago

Some more recent 'Our Wic' coronations 👑👑👑Including Suleman from @magna_tandoori, @serenakorda + Yuffie and the Royal Mwale Family ❤️ @delaan.mwale_17Open today from 11 - 6. Last chance to see! 😭 by @lucy_j_wright

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10 days ago

Some of the lovely visitors to the 'Our Wic' throne room, so far! We've been inviting people to stop by and hold their own mini coronation in the space, which is inspired by the Tweedmouth Salmon Queen and the Palazzo Reale in Turin.I love how regal everybody looks! #Don'tLeaveYourCrownOnTheGround 👑Including @vicjay_art @stringmakeranna and @lady.kitt1 💖💖💖@createberwick by @lucy_j_wright

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11 days ago

Launches *today* at @thestrawyardberwick - open from 11am! 👑👑👑@createberwick @artsheritage Join us!* The project motto, 'don't leave your crown on the ground' came out of conversations with participating artist, @stringmakeranna and is about stepping into our power with pride! by @lucy_j_wright

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15 days ago