As a performance artist, Cowdell utilises multiple modalities including action, costume, somatics, ethnography, dance and site-specificity to explore society through a formalised and qualitative intimacy. Cowdell’s work strives for a raw viscerality and lingers on the uncomfortable textures of lived experience.

Through her curatorial and facilitation work she creates situations for experimental and adhoc performance to take place, allowing people to further deepen their connection with body, space, object and time.  She has curated and facilitated over fourty performance events, workshops, discussions and exhibitions. She works extensively to both present performance art and to develop performance art practises across New Zealand, Australia and the world. Her work in curation is based in creating public events which offer meaningful engagement for audiences and opportunities for artists to push boundaries. Her events have taken place in numerous locations including theatres, galleries, an abandoned bunker, parliament grounds, a public park, a library and literally in the ocean.

Cowdell has presented her own performance works at The Festival of Arts and Media at The Ionian Academy Corfu, Trocadero Gallery Melbourne, RM Gallery Auckland, Play_Station Gallery Wellington, Basement Theatre Auckland, Bats Theatre Wellington, The Auckland Fringe Festival, Chronophonium Festival New Zealand, Audio Foundation Auckland, The PAN Asia 10th Anniversary Festival South Korea, Performance Køkkenet’s Online Festival, Chandigarh Government Museum and Gallery India, Healing Hill Art Center India, Month of Performance Art Berlin Germany, Fuse Festival Darebin Australia, The Melbourne Fringe Festival, Tiny Festival Christchurch, Rosekill Performance Art Farm, Mothership New York and Tempo Online Festival New Zealand.