Mansions of the Future

Intro

Mansions of the Future is an arts and cultural hub in Lincoln brought to life through a public programme of talks, workshops, communal lunches and family activities, alongside national and international artistic commissions.

Working with artists from inception to delivery alongside local communities, the three year programme privileges social, site-specific and collaborative ways of working. Situated in Lincoln, an ancient city that holds manuscripts of the Magna Carta and Charter of the Forest, key texts in the articulation of human rights, the project addresses the relationship between art, culture and democracy.

As a commitment to creative professional development Mansions of the Future is proud to provide space and support to local artists and community groups through our Associate Artists scheme and Takeover programme.

All programmed events are free.

Background

Produced in collaboration with the Lincoln Cultural and Arts Partnership and supported by partners across the region, Mansions of the Future is a physical space and a series of commissions, with new artworks being co-created by artists and the citizens of Lincoln.

The programme includes a series of ambitious cross artform commissions taking place throughout Lincoln and the wider region, with a focus on socially-engaged practice and engagement. This means work which is co-produced or created together with local people, considering and connecting with the big ideas which influence all of our day-to-day lives, like power and democracy.

The programme title Mansions of the Future references The Difference, a 2015 project in Lincoln by Artist Ruth Ewan curated by Gymnasium Projects. The Difference took its cue from the city’s historic connections with the Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest and worked with Lincoln’s Meadows Primary School.

The young people involved with the project were supported to articulate their own demands of the world. In thinking about an ideal place, one young person proposed that “we will share the mansions of the future”. This ambitious and welcoming statement inspired the team and was adopted as the name for the programme. Thus from the very beginning the project has grown from, and been informed by, the communities of Lincoln who have gone on to use and develop the building and programme.

The project’s inaugural Artist in Residence, Kathrin Böhm, produced a concept and design for the ground floor of the Mansions of the Future building, as well as a structure for the first year of programme. Her work Culture is a Verb equipped the building for a public discussion about local culture through action: A civic place that evolves over time and through use, where everyday culture, local history and contemporary art meet and merge.

Mansions of the Future is a community venue and creative space and the building is designed to adapt to those that use it. It houses a number of multi-functional spaces including a Reading Room, Commons Room, Resource Room and Meeting Room, all of which are a resource for local people.

Mansions of the Future has also been made possible with the generous support of a range of community partners and donors, including the University of Lincoln, Lincoln BIG, Lincoln Cathedral, City of Lincoln Council and Bishops Grosseteste University.