Transported – Art on the Move

If any of your haulage jobs have taken them to Lincolnshire recently, you may have seen some of Transported’s work. Some of their most high profile recent works include two series of vinyl-wrapped art on the side of local lorries. First there was Alisha Miller’s Lincolnshire Loveliness, a series celebrating the beauty and history of the county, and Transported has recently unveiled Neil Baker and Steven Hatton’s Fenland Folk, a celebration of history’s most famous fenlanders.

What is Transported?

Transported is an initiative to involve as many residents as possible of Boston Borough and South Holland in art and creative activities. Whether by involving local people in artistic endeavours or cooperating with local businesses, organisations and charities, the people at Transported work to help communities thrive and to give local people space in which to develop their own creative talents. Transported works by organising events, as well as collaborating with other organisations.

What has Transported Got to Do with Haulage Jobs?

As anyone who’s ever spent time in haulage jobs will know, lorries cover huge distances. Even a short trip can easily run into the three figures. This, combined with the billboard-sized surface area of any trailer, makes them ideal vectors for showcasing art on the move.

In light of this, Transported are working in association with cold chain specialists Freshlinc in order to vinyl wrap artwork onto their trailers. Building on the success of their last collaboration, wherein artist Alisha Miller produced Lincolnshire Loveliness, a series celebrating life in Lincolnshire, both past and present, Transported have partnered up with the local design agency Electric Egg to produce Fenland Folk, a set of works to commemorate various renowned fen-dwellers.

The artwork will remain on the road for three to six years, covering a projected 2,500 miles per week throughout the UK and on the continent. In total, each trailer is expected to cover between 400,000 and 800,000 miles during its lifetime. This makes for a stunningly large international stage on which the art will be showcased.

In order to involve local schools (as well as to stoke interest in haulage jobs among the new generation), Transported and Freshlinc brought a lorry carrying one piece of the Fenland Folk series to Swineshead St. Mary’s Primary School, where key stage one pupils were allowed to look around the lorry and then invited to design their own lorry, inspired by Lincolnshire. The designs will be entered into a competition, with winners being chosen by Neil Baker and Steven Hatton (the artists behind Fenland Folk) and presented to their designers in the form of model lorries.

How Can I Get Involved?

Transported only works within the Boston Borough/South Holland area, but if you’d like to see similar schemes happen elsewhere, the best you can do is spread the word. The more positive press Art on Lorries receives, the more likely it is that other haulage companies will want to do something similar.