Hull artist Lauren Saunders has been appointed as the Embedded Artist for the Humber TRANSECTS Project - a major research programme exploring how coastal communities have lived through shifting forms of marine energy over time. TRANSECTS, which stands for Transitions in Energy for Coastal Communities over Time and Space, brings together researchers from the UHI Archaeology Institute, UHI Orkney, and the University of Hull. Lauren will play a central role in shaping how these stories are shared, understood and creatively explored across the region.
As a Hull based interdisciplinary artist, Lauren’s practice is rooted in community storytelling, heritage and our changing relationships with land and sea. She has spent over a decade working on coastal, nature based and community focused projects in Hull, where emotional connection, accessibility and lived experience sit at the heart of her work.
Over the coming months, Lauren will collaborate closely with the TRANSECTS team to deliver a series of community story‑sharing events. These include local Storyline workshops, inviting people to bring objects, photographs and memories connected to whale oil, oil and gas, and renewable energy in the Humber. The team will also host on‑site Walkshops, exploring real histories of the people who lived and worked around these landscapes.
Lauren will create new commissioned artwork in response to these experiences - drawing on her approach across drawing, printmaking, sculpture, installation, writing, performance, digital media and participatory practice. Her work often explores how creativity can support communities in imagining regenerative futures, especially in the context of climate action and ecology.
Some of her recent projects include Cloverlore (2025), Wild Dialogue / Mash The Badger (2025), Ballad O Bones (2025), The Living Room (2025) in Grimsby, and Queer Mycology Lab (2026). She is also Co‑Director of The Critical Fish, an artist led journal promoting accessible writing and thinking about visual culture.
Dates and locations for TRANSECTS events will be shared soon. In the meantime, participants are encouraged to start digging out objects, photographs and keepsakes that might spark conversation at the workshops. This project offers a rare chance to explore the Humber’s energy past and future through the lens of a Hull artist deeply connected to its people, histories and coastlines.
To find out more about Lauren's work visit her website here. Follow Lauren's instagram account lsaundersart to see project updates!
To learn more about the project overall, visit the Humber TRANSECTS website.