About

Laura Cameron Lewis is an arts director, artist and educator.

Laura has written scripts for film and television, and recorded music as The Keening | Caoineadh.  As Ootland productions, she made new musical, funded by the Wellcome Trust, which is based on research into compulsive hoarding. How the Light Gets In was due for showcase presentation in April 2020 but has been postponed pending COVID and in the meantime a recorded version is being developed.

She has been involved in the establishment of Ionad Hiort, a gaelic cultural centre project in Uig on the Isle of Lewis; and she runs classes for kids in Gaelic and English as Northern Lights Youth Theatre.

Laura worked for three years as Head of Dance at Creative Scotland where she was also chair of the Gaelic Arts Strategy Group. Prior to this, Laura paralleled her artistic career with being director of the dance artists choreographic organisation,  The Work Room , which she developed from a research brief to an organisation that works with artists across Scotland and internationally, focusing on artist-led initiatives and developing excellence in practice.

She is a public speaker, writing and speaking about arts, culture and social change at festivals such as The Edinburgh Book Festival, ImagiNation Festival of Ideas, Changing Scotland Festival, British Dance Edition 2014, Tramway World Cafe, Bella Caledonia, and Mission Models Money.

Laura completed her MPhil at Glasgow University in practice based research with a thesis on the compositional strategies and political implications of digital pervasive, mixed reality performance.  She has also held posts as part-time lecturer in theatre directing at Queen Margaret’s University, lecturer in contemporary theatre practice and arts management.

As an artist she curated Edinburgh’s Virtual Festival, (g)Host City at www.virtualfestival.com and recently performed in the award-winning performance Whatever Gets You Through The Night, which she also co-created with Cora Bissett, David Grieg and the rest of the band, Swimmer One.  With installations such as You Are Not With Me, Parallel Lines, and Quantum Physical, Laura’s work blurs lines between virtual worlds, psychogeography and the traces of people long gone.  From 2002 to 2008 she was Artistic Director of the award-winning Highway Diner group, and her public appearances encompass acting, dance, theatre and music as well as producing, PR, writing, choreography and dramaturgy.

She has also held a career in PR and arts producing as director of Groundwork Agency PR, head of press for Pleasance Theatre and was producer with Communicado theatre company, and has written as a critic and commentator for the Scotsman, The List, and Metro newspapers. From 2002 to 2004 she co-curated the SiLENCiO arts cabaret of avant-thinking in Edinburgh with the poet J.L Williams.  Completing her undergraduate degree in devised theatre at legendary liberal arts institution, Dartington College of Arts, Laura has had a vibrant career in left field performance, art and cultural management.

She has also enjoyed playing music in the band Swimmer One www.swimmerone.co.uk, and with her own band, The Tea Dance Orchestra.

(portrait by Jannica Honey)

You can contact me at ootlands (at) gmail.com