Intro
Lincolnshire One Venues (LOV) is a network of nine visual and performing arts venues in Lincolnshire working together to transform community-led cultural provision in our rural county. The Centre for Culture and Creativity hosts the LOV Programme and team, supporting the network to develop innovative partnerships to bring our communities the very best in arts and culture.
“LOV have helped me recognise my own strengths and made a future in the arts possible for me and many others”
Young Decision Maker
C4CC’s Role
Participant-led, this innovative programme embeds arts and cultural autonomy into schools, services and communities. C4CC hosts the programme and supports LOV to secure resources for strategic cultural development across Lincolnshire.
By linking with the academics and researchers within the Centre, LOV can demonstrate the real world impact and value of culture, to people and place.
About
Lincolnshire One Venues began with Thrive funding from Arts Council England. The remit was to explore the potential for local venues to come together through joint programmes of work.
In 2012 the network set up the LOV Young People’s Programme to support young people in being a part of the cultural landscape in Lincolnshire. The aim was to create a culture shift amongst young people, schools and families in the way they access and perceive the LOV partners’ offer.
Building on the success of the first programmes, from 2015-18 the LOV team expanded and created high quality arts offers, supported by investment from Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. They also developed LOV Music, supported by National Foundation for Youth Music, a professional development platform for young musicians and LOV Film, supported by Film Hub Midlands, which brought over 2000 audiences to a youth-led film festival.
LOV put the young people of Lincolnshire at the heart of cultural activity. These young ‘decision makers’ have been responsible for producing a range of successful and inspiring work in local venues. For example, The Riverhead Producers programmed a comedy event featuring Sara Pascoe, LPAC Producers commissioned Clare Gaydon’s thought-provoking Somebody I Used to Know and Creative Young Minds collaborated with celebrated photographer Andy Weekes for a portrait exhibition at the National Centre for Craft and Design.
LOV have also offered many other opportunities for local young people, including annual trips to Edinburgh Festival Fringe where young producers visit a variety of shows and feedback to the venues. This has resulted in the programming of Cell by Smoking Apples and Séance by Darkfield.
2018 onwards
In 2018 the LOV Programme and project team joined the Centre for Culture and Creativity.
The team developed EVOLVE, a three year strategic partnership programme between LOV Venues, schools and the Lincolnshire Music Education Hub, funded by Youth Music.
With an ongoing commitment to young people, the new phase will also expand LOV’s work to include more community groups. The team will co-create with families and intergenerational groups and will renew their focus on provision for disabled audiences.
Lincolnshire One Venues’ strategy is informed by evidence and learning from the young people’s programme, feedback and consultation with young people and partners. The LOV vision is to develop a resilient and dynamic cultural sector in Lincolnshire by building capacity within local communities.
Vision
Since 2007, LOV has developed a new way of partnership working; challenging how venues and cultural organisations work together, in order to become stronger, cohesive and more adaptable in the current economic climate.
Our mission is to bring people the very best in arts and culture by working together to support, sustain and develop the arts and arts venues across the large – and predominantly rural – county of Lincolnshire.
Through our Young People’s Programme, funded by Paul Hamlyn and Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, we have transformed the way venues work with young people, not only as audiences, but also as participants and decision makers.
Project Team
Julian Hanby
Julian manages the projects and the daily business of Lincolnshire One Venues (LOV). His role supports LOV as it fulfils its ambitions around creating high-quality participatory work in communities, the development of artists, looking to engage new audiences and building resilience in the organisation.
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