Dr Lauren Baker Mitchell

Dr Lauren Baker Mitchell is a Senior Research Fellow for Creative Communities at Northumbria University, where she delivers the Community Innovation Practitioner Awards. Her background in arts organisations, freelance craft, and academia is deeply invested in themes of co-creation, unconventional entrepreneurship, innovation, and identity.

Lauren champions co-creation and cultural democracy, underpinning her belief in the transformative relationships and narratives that emerge from collaborative work. Originally a textile designer, Lauren’s experience as a maker, curator for galleries and museums, and facilitator of craft workshops consistently involved collaboration and partnership for meaningful creativity.

Prior to her work with Creative Communities, she was an Innovation and Research Associate at Creative Fuse North East. Her doctoral research at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, University of Dundee, delved into organisational programmes within creative economy development, highlighting the co-creative dynamics at play.