* UPDATE: we've decided to stretch our goal to $4000, and have released a new reward - the Fury Print - for $90+ pledgers. See 'updates' tab for details! 

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The Lightning Furies is a new live art project that takes the form of a feminist bike gang. It will debut at Crack Theatre Festival as part of This Is Not Art (TINA) in Newcastle, NSW, 29 Sept - 2 Oct 2016.

With a two-stream approach of craft workshops (Badass Bike Bling) and public performances taking place on bikes (The Lightning Furies), the project addresses concerns around female riders claiming space on the road in a male-dominated cycling culture.

When you sign up to be a Lightning Fury, you’ll make bike accessories, learn percussion, and take on a secret gang identity. Clad in pink, gold and black, the Furies will hit the streets, pedalling through Newcastle in a cacophony of bicycle bells, a rush of handlebar tassels. You'll learn to be your bravest self, ride in a pack, and smash the patriarchy with boots and glitter.

Participation in this work is for female-identified and non-binary folks.

Who are Snapcat?

Snapcat is a collaboration between Perth artists Renae Coles and Anna Dunnill. Together they make participatory performances, paintings and objects. They are currently artists in residence at CIA Studios, West Perth.

Renae and Anna started working together in 2011, when they helped found Paper Mountain (a gallery, studio and co-working space), and co-curated the first exhibition, The Conservatorium. They were both Paper Mountain co-directors until 2014, at which point they began collaborating artistically.

Snapcat's artistic concerns include bravery, feminism and spectacle. You can see some of their previous projects here.

Why is Snapcat making this work?

As female commuter-cyclists in Perth, we've noticed that the local cycling culture is overwhelmingly an expression of athleticism, aggression and machismo. It's a space dominated by lycra-clad male bodies, and if that's not you, it can feel pretty unwelcoming.

Additionally, while cycling infrastructure in this city is slowly improving, there's a long way to go; and drivers are frequently intolerant of bikes on the road. We discovered that many of our friends (particularly female friends) chose not to ride because they felt too vulnerable and unsafe in many locations.

As cyclists, we must to learn to take up space on the road. As women, we must learn to take up space in the world.

We love cycling because, at its best, it's an eco-friendly, healthy, exhilarating means of transportation and fun. It's also, in theory, totally democratic: a kid with a $30 bike from gumtree has as much right to take up space on the road as a BMW driver.

We are committed to creating a safe space for women and non-binary folks to engage with cycling, feel empowered, and take on a tough new identity that will carry through into their everyday lives.

What is Crack Theatre Festival?

Crack Theatre Festival is an experimental performance festival. It's a part of This Is Not Art, a cultural festival held each year in Newcastle.

The Festival champions the creation of safe, non-confrontational performance spaces, invading the shopfronts, streets and unused buildings of the Newcastle CBD to create non-traditional theatre spaces where experimental and contemporary art can exist. It's free to attend, and includes workshops and performances.

While Crack Theatre Festival will provide technical support and promotion (print & online), they can't give us any further funding. We have partnered with the excellent Metro Cycles in Newcastle, and we are donating our own time.

For this campaign, we are investing in project-relevant merchandise items (zines, pins, patches and bags) that we can continue to sell beyond the Pozible campaign, providing an additional income stream. This means that once the basic project costs are covered we will be able to begin paying ourselves a small fee.

Project costs are as follows:

Travel: $1000

Accommodation for 6 days: $700

Materials: $200

Screenprinting: $100

Documentation: $600

Bike hire: $500

Merch production: $800

Pozible also takes a 5% fee on successful campaigns.

TOTAL: $3900 (plus Pozible fee).

If we make $3000:

This is the minimum we must raise in order to make this project happen.

The balance of ~$1000 will come from our savings, offset by additional merch sales.

If we make $4000 (our stretch goal):

We will be able to cover all costs, and won't be out of pocket.

If we make $4000+:

We'll be able to pay ourselves an artist fee. This will cover some of our additional costs (meals etc) during the week in Newcastle.

Presenting a new work in a new place is always a challenge - one we're excited to take on! In the leadup to performing, we'll learn to navigate Newcastle by bicycle, engaging with the local community and those visiting for the festival.

A big challenge for our specific performance will be the logistics of managing 20 audience members on bicycles. Throughout 2016 we've been holding regular rides with the Perth gang of Furies, taking their feedback on board and fine-tuning our methodology. (We also learned heaps from a collaboration with Melbourne initiative Projector Bike; we curated a women-only night ride with film screenings.)

We see our performances at Crack Theatre Festival not as the final stage of the Lightning Furies project but rather a crucial stage in the project's development. We plan to keep pushing this work, learn from every public performance, and continue making this bike gang bigger, bolder and ever more badass.