Biography / Performance Biography
Katy Bowman worked in the realms of performance and installation with 3 decades of professional experience as a performer, devisor, designer and director in visual theatre. Acknowledged as an innovator, her work has been presented in a number of award-winning seasons as well as nationally and internationally.
Katy created (with Neil Thomas) (mis)Information Bureau a performance installation for the City Gallery in February/March 2006, a site specific instance of the Museum of Modern Oddities for Nati Frinj October 2005, Lost & Found for the City of Melbourne and L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival in 2005, Wish You Were Here – a souvenir shop installation for the 2004 Awesome Festival in Perth and The Blue Rinse Club for the 2004 Melbourne International Arts Festival which was awarded a Green Room Award for best design for a Cabaret.
Co-creator of the Museum of Modern Oddities (MoMO) with Neil Thomas, instances of MoMO include Melbourne International Festival 2000, a 10week season in a disused hardware shop in 2001, a Spotlight showing at the Adelaide Arts Market 2002 and The Zurich Theatre Festival 2002.
In 2003 three new instances of MoMO were created for international festivals including the London International Festival of Theatre, the Oerol Festival (Holland) and the Genste Feste. (Belgium) MoMO was invited back to Zurich in 2003 to create the award winning bar/installation Odd Hours this was followed by The Blue Thong club for the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts. Katy also performed in ICE’s Transit Camp for the Big West Festival.
Other works by Katy include You Are Here, a caravan installation as part of Caravan Poetic for the Melbourne Festival 1998, and The Cone Project, a seven-week long sculptural, performance installation at Southgate and the Victorian Arts Centre, presented by Handspan Visual Theatre in 1999. The Cone Project was restaged in 2000 for a showing at the 4th Australian Performing Arts Market and at The Big Rig at the Adelaide Fringe.
Katy was a company member of Handspan Visual Theatre http://handspantheatre.com.au for 12 years and has worked with companies including Chamber Made Opera, Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, Polyglot and Back to Back Theatre in various roles including performing, writing, puppet making, devising and directing.
Director or the visual performance ensemble Transfigurations, (1985 – 1999) Katy created and presented original works for major events nationally and internationally, including Melbourne Festival (1989-95), the Sydney and Adelaide Festivals, and in Japan, Singapore, Italy, Slovenia and Hong Kong.
After studying drama at Flinders University Katy started her performance career with the Tasmanian Puppet Theatre in 1974 and performed in some of the seminal puppetry and visual theatre works including Nigel Triffitt’s Mommas Little Horror Show, (1975) The Gift of Vagrancy (1985) and The Fall of Singapore. (1987).