Lauren Saunders

Another fabulous afternoon with the Queer Mycology Lab - foraying around Springbank Cemetery before having multiple cups of tea and creating structural hats ahead of next months showcase, Mycodarium! I love this project so much 🍄 @elspethrose @gemma_macphadraig_mt @amelia910_

I am part of the Crew for ‘HMTC Productions’, where we’re filming the musical version of the TV hit, The Great British Bake Off. I must say, I don’t remember all these harmonies and dance steps being part of my job description! My job at ‘Middleton Studios’ is the Designer: make sure the studio set looks spot on, manage a skilled team of makers, and otherwise oversee the visual aesthetic of the entire thing (wait, this feels a bit meta…). Honestly, a lot of my work happened before any of the bakers even knew they were selected for the show - so after I do a few simple audits I’ve got a bit of time left in the work day to help out where I’m needed. Occasional kicklines are in the contract apparently (I checked). Come see me put in a shift on opening night in ONE WEEKS TIME - everyone’s put a lot of love and effort into this genuinely brilliant production so make sure not to miss it! 🎭 Hull Musical Theatre Company (@hull_mtc ) 📆 Thurs 21 - Sat 23 May 2026 ⏰ 7.30pm | Sat Matinee at 2.30pm 📍 Middleton Hall, University of Hull, HU6 7RX (@middletonhallhull ) 💷 £18 Adult / £15 Concession (+ online booking fees) 🎟️ /middleton-hall/the-great-british-bake-off-the-musical/p-xwrje 📸 mostly @hj.images !

It was an absolute pleasure to deliver a Mini Lino print workshop to the @heyvolunteering volunteers this afternoon at @artlinkhull ! After explaining tool, technique and process, and faffing with little test pieces - the group went to work designing and printing their own Lino prints (with some trying multi-colour techniques and making secondary printing plates!) Well done to all the participants - you did a cracking job! 🙌

Step into ‘Mycodarium’ – a relaxed multi-disciplinary pop-up event where art, mycology and queerness collide in a celebration of growth, connection, resilience and transformation. Explore the artwork on display by @amelia910_ , @elspethrose , @gemma_macphadraig_mt and @lsaundersart , enjoy live performances by local queer creatives and engage with a playful sharing of research and discoveries… brought to life by through art, storytelling and creative experimentation. The Queer Mycology Lab project created space for dialogue between human understandings and fungal worlds – an opportunity to learn with fungi rather than simply about them – through curiosity, respect, shared discovery, and collective creativity. ‘Mycodarium’ is an opportunity to share the ways in which fungi has inspired and taught us throughout the project, and educate and inspire others on this beautifully ‘queer’ discipline. 🍄 12pm - 8pm | Saturday 27 June 2026 🍄 Pier Street Pop-Up Space, @fruitmarkethull 🍄 Art, Performance, Words, Workshops and Research - details of workshop times and performers will be shared closer to the event 🍄 Free Entry 🍄 All welcome (especially dogs!) 🍄 More info and updates at: /mycodarium

Co-planning a very cool and heart-warming exhibition with a lovely group of @maletlambert pupils, coming to a certain @hull.libraries venue near you this summer… @generationhull

I have never met so many types of fungi in a single afternoon. During today’s Queer Mycology Lab foray we found so many (unidentified) mushrooms out in the wild, despite the relatively dry season - and even got a great spore print off one of them! @elspethrose also brought a selection of cultivated types to handle and get to know - the textures and colours they have are stunning! Then we got the clay and drawing materials out, learnt some new artistic techniques and made a bunch of our own ceramic shrooms. Perfect, perfect way to spend a Wednesday afternoon. 🍄 Many thanks to The Sapling Fund / @universityofleeds , @playfulgreenhull / @universityofhull , and @fruitmarkethull for supporting this project (and to the @unileedsculture for being the catalyst!)

I’ve got some paintings on display at @groundgallery , as part of the Existence is Resistance @altpridehull exhibition. I really liked the work in context with the expo launch event, as a backdrop to music and drag and poetry and dance and everything else in between. This work is a little different than the more nature-based or folkloric stuff I tend to share now - and that’s because this work is around a decade old! They were painted in response to Trumps inauguration, Brexit, and the Panama Papers scandal… and the feeling that history does nothing but repeat itself. These are part of a small series of quotes from throughout history that people could learn something from - yet now saddens me that things have only got worse since I painted them. Frustratingly, it has also come to light that everyone’s favourite living philosopher was a great pal of Epstein who “fantasized about the island”. Wonder if he had a quote about being a gross hypocrite too? Still, the work is up at Ground until 30 June alongside a number of other brilliant works by local queer artists - go see!

Better late than never! May’s What’s On: 🌼 The second Entangled workshop… but as it’s already happened I’ll skip this one 😂 🌙 Existence is Resistance exhibition launch party at @groundgallery , as part of @altpridehull ! Launch was last night… but the exhibition is until 30 June so be sure not to miss it! 🐭 Mon 18 - 11-3pm: The third of the Entangled workshops! This workshop, delivered in collaboration with local PhD researcher @gribbenclaire , is an exploration into multi-species justice and urban food growing. I believe there’s still a few spaces left on this one at @timebankhullandeastriding in Marfleet! Free but book: /e/entangled-marfleet-community-centre-timebank-tickets-1982207728676 🍰 Thurs 21 - Sat 23: The Great British Bake Off Musical! I’ve been rehearsing this since January with @hull_mtc and it’s going to be SUCH A BRILLIANT SHOW! Has brilliant music and a brilliant story - and the first production of it ever in Hull. So please come along and support community theatre by getting your tickets at: /middleton-hall/the-great-british-bake-off-the-musical/p-xwrje 🪴 The final Entangled workshop, taking place at Beverley Minster Parish Hall! Same details as above, but book on via: /e/entangled-beverley-minster-parish-hall-tickets-1982107975311 Plus there’s a bunch of weekly sessions if you’re a Queer Mycology Labber or @maletlambert Arts Council participant… and something special for all you @heyvolunteering Volunteers on Mon 11 😉)

I had such a great time at the @altpridehull ‘Existence is Resistance’ exhibition launch event last night at @groundgallery ! I offered many sparkles and thematic musical theatre numbers as the ever effervescent Ruby Moon (@lsaundersonstage ). I really enjoyed meeting and watching a whole load of really lovely and talented performers too! My paintings - shown here behind the stage - will be on display alongside loads of other great work by local queer artists until the end of June… so go and check the exhibition out! (@lsaundersart ) And huge thanks to everyone who gave me such lovely feedback after my performance, to @lastpicktheatre for organising AltPride, and especially to the brilliant @onyx.o.x for pulling all this together and for inviting me to participate as both an artist and a performer! 👏 PS - please send me any photos or videos of my set if you have them!

Another beautiful sunny day spent with lovely people (and a beautiful feline admin assistant) chatting about multi-species justice, nature recovery and urban food-growing in support of @gribbenclaire ’s research 🌱 I love my job sometimes 💚

Testing, trialling, trying, making. Things are coming along! @maletlambert @generationhull