Funding Support Drives Further Creative Growth for Lincolnshire

As only one of 12 universities in the UK to receive NPO funding, the Centre has empowered its cultural assets to deliver unprecedented results and has ambitious plans for the following year.

The funding has supported the Barbican Creative Hub’s conference programme ahead of its opening, launched the inaugural Creatives in Residence programme, and enabled Lincoln Arts Centre to boost year-on-year investment in artists, raise sector ambitions, create entry-level roles, and commission impactful new works.

In the last year, the Lincoln Arts Centre and Barbican Creative Hub has invested £166,670 into both early-career and established artists through commissions or fees over the year, elevating its position as a thriving destination for creative practitioners to develop and perform new works. In the last two years, 78 creative practitioners have benefited from this enhanced support offering.

The Arts Council England investment supported diverse events across two artistic seasons, exploring themes of hope, optimism, and home, with immersive experiences in shopping centres, pop-up youth spaces across Lincoln, fun dance games held at the Brayford Pool Campus, new performances and exhibitions which addressed topics such as online gambling harm, neurodiversity, and global friendship.

The funding has also created new job opportunities, including a Lincoln Book Festival Project Manager and an Engagement Producer. Additionally, two entry-level “Routes In” roles have been introduced to welcome individuals who may not have considered creative industries accessible. The funding also supports two postgraduate paid placements.

The two “Routes In” positions centre around “on-the-job” training for those lacking specific experience to address barriers that may have otherwise prevented people from considering creative jobs.

Tom, Marketing Assistant at Lincoln Arts Centre, spoke about their time in the role so far: “Routes In has given me an open-door into the arts in an industry that can feel full of closed doors. The workplace culture here is equal parts honest and kind and having that support in the same office has motivated me to work harder and with more detail, so I can meet my potential not only for myself, but the team, artists and audiences of Lincolnshire!”

This ethos of enhanced accessibility to the arts has similarly been reflected in the year’s programme of events designed to bring new audiences into creative venues. Events at Lincoln Arts Centre welcomed 6,571 first-time low cultural engagers across the last two years, while the Barbican Creative Hub organised seven major conferences, each with 938 attendants and a total of 43 national and regional speakers.

At each conference event, industry experts and emerging talent alike were able to exchange ideas and help shape the future of the creative and cultural industries for Greater Lincolnshire.

In 2024-2025, the impactful events included: Art of Good Governance explored innovative governance and peer networks in the arts; Decoding Greater Lincolnshire shared local data insights to drive creative programming; Technically Speaking showcased evolving technical roles in live performance for greater accessibility; Future Perspectives both discussed circular economy and cutting-edge tech such as VR and AR; Navigating the Storm provided strategies for supporting marginalized artists in a cancel culture climate; and What’s Next for Social Prescribing highlighted creative health solutions through workshops and international examples.

Tamily Cookson, Director of the Barbican Creative Hub, said: “With the Barbican Creative Hub set to open soon, this is an incredibly exciting and busy time. Even before our doors officially open, our programme has already made a significant impact. Through conferences and events hosted at Lincoln Arts Centre, we’ve firmly established ourselves as a key hub for sector development – bringing together professionals to exchange insights, spark collaborations, and push the boundaries of creative and cultural practice.

“Thanks to Arts Council funding, we’ve been able to provide vital industry support, and as we enter our third year, we’re expanding even further. Our plans include more training in inclusive practices, regular creative meetups, and real-time data analysis. The Creatives in Residence programme will continue to offer invaluable opportunities for talent, and we can’t wait to officially open our doors later this year to amplify our impact even more.”

The Arts Centre’s latest Art of Becoming Season this Autumn will showcase new artistic works, in addition to providing six opportunities for practitioners to sample brand new work to audiences for the first time at the Centre’s dedicated Demo night.

Ben Anderson, Director of Lincoln Arts Centre, said: “As we move forward into our third year of NPO funding, we are still incredibly humbled to be bestowed with this opportunity and take it incredibly serious.”

“The year ahead will see the extraordinary achievement of a new contemporary mid-scale dance work made in Lincoln; the return of Lincoln Book Festival; new entry level roles; new commissions for local artists resulting in shows for families, new musical theatre and work with technology; more work around campus and the city, the introduction of a much enhanced free family programme; two new seasons packed full of brand-new contemporary performance and exhibitions; sector training; workshops and more.”