Rachel Baynton is an artist, producer and academic working in cross-artform contexts. Her work focusses on collaboration, co-creation, and contemporary cultural production.
A graduate of Dartington College of Arts, Rachel is a professional writer, director and producer of collaborative and participatory arts projects with national and international reach. She has worked with diverse public groups around the UK, and with major commissioning partners such as the NHS, the RAF, and the BBC on projects including 'Fallen', performed live to commemorate and coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
Her practice includes work with and for community groups, including the creation of a large-scale processional performance with women across the City of Lincoln as part of their Suffrage 100 Commemorations, and a new community show for Paines Plough’s Roundabout. She has worked on exhibitions and collections management at Lancaster University’s Institute of Contemporary Arts (LICA), and is a regular presenter for BBC Radio Lincolnshire.
She is Associate Chair of UK New Artists, who support the development of early-career artists from diverse backgrounds, and is on the board of Trustees for Zest Theatre, an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation working to improve the lives and amplify the voices of children and young people through creative experiences.
As Co-artistic Director of Proto-type Theater – a company of multi-disciplinary artists making original performance work – she has created and performed in the socially-engaged 'Truth to Power Project'; digital animation 'A Dangerous Thing'; and touring theatre piece, 'A Machine they’re Secretly Building', which was part of the British Council Edinburgh Showcase and long-listed for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award. Other work with Proto-type includes site-specific digital installation for Chester's Roman Walls; 'Fortnight', a two-week long immersive performance project using pervasive digital technologies (Theatre Sandbox Award – NESTA/Watershed, Bristol Old Vic); and a multimedia concert-performance featuring a live laptop orchestra and animation.
Proto-type have been making work and supporting young artists in the US, the Netherlands, Russia, China, Armenia, France, Zimbabwe and the UK since 1997. Critics have called their work ‘an intriguing brush with altered reality’ (New York Times), ‘smartly intelligent, coolly reasoned theatre’ (The Guardian) and ‘enthralling’ (Zambezi News). They are Associate Artists of Lincoln Arts Centre for 2023-2026.
Rachel is Associate Professor and Creative Engagement Producer for the School of Creative Arts at the University of Lincoln, where she has steered the student-led Lincoln Company to critical acclaim. She is the creator and Programme Leader of the University's suite of industry focussed courses in Arts and Cultural Management (MA / PGDip / PGCert) in association with Lincoln International Business School. She is currently engaged in a long-term collaborative partnership with Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust exploring creative and co-design approaches in Mental Healthcare settings.