Nicola Zena Lumley is an interdisciplinary artist, composer and digital arts practitioner whose work spans sound, moving image, electronic and electroacoustic music, multimedia performance, creative education and collaborative arts practice.
For more than thirty years she has explored the creative potential of collaboration, interdisciplinary practice and new artistic forms. Since the early 1990s she has developed projects across sound, moving image, performance, digital media and cross-artform contexts, combining sound, and new technologies during the emergence of digital arts while continuing to expand her practice through experimentation, collaboration and new creative contexts.
Her work has been commissioned by film directors, theatre makers, contemporary dance practitioners and international arts organisations including ISEA (International Symposium on Electronic Art). Work has been produced by Forma Arts and Media and presented nationally and internationally through exhibitions, festivals, cultural programmes and performance contexts, including FACT Liverpool, Dance City, Tramway Glasgow, the Red House Centre for Culture and Debate in Sofia, and BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, with key projects supported by Arts Council England.
Alongside independent artistic practice, Nicola has composed music and sound design for film, animation, contemporary dance and theatre. She composed and co-created the soundtrack for Tina Gharavi's documentary Closer, which received the Czech Radio Award at the Prague One World Film Festival, where the jury praised its use of sound and music.
Her work and practice have been featured through interviews and broadcasts on BBC Radio 3's Mixing It, BBC Newcastle and Radio Sofia. Throughout her career she has also undertaken artist residencies, guest lecturing, mentoring and the design and delivery of specialist creative learning programmes alongside her artistic practice, including residencies with Dance City, Helix Arts and Durham City Arts, and work with schools, community groups, SEND participants and other underrepresented groups.
Throughout her career Nicola has maintained a commitment to experimentation, innovation and collaboration. Current research is focused on the potential of animation, environmental enquiry and scientific collaboration as interconnected areas of practice. She is particularly interested in how artistic experiences can foster connection, wonder and curiosity in relation to the natural world, and how creative approaches might contribute to environmental awareness, conservation and public engagement.
Her practice continues to evolve through collaboration, research and creative experimentation, seeking new ways of connecting artistic practice, environmental knowledge and lived experience.