Date: Thursday, 24 April 2025
Time: 5:30 – 8:00 PM
Booking: Required. Click here to book.
Venue: The Usher, Danes Terrace, Lincoln LN2 1LP (Please note: Lincoln Museum is closed; this session will take place in The Usher.) Visitor Information | Lincoln Museum.
Access: The venue is wheelchair accessible. If you have any specific access needs, please provide details when booking.
Contemporary Visual Arts Network East Midlands (CVAN EM) is hosting this session to advocate for the visual arts sector in Lincolnshire, by facilitating knowledge-sharing between organisations, artists and arts workers. The event will champion transparency and aims to provide clarity on Arts Council England’s funding extension, update on current programming, address future challenges, and encourage collaboration within the arts community in Lincolnshire.
Arts Council England has taken the decision to extend the current *National Portfolio (2023–2027) to 31 March 2028 due to external factors. These include an upcoming zero-based Government Spending Review (concluding in June), an independent review led by Baroness Margaret Hodge (report due in 2026), and the Government’s Devolution White Paper impacting local structures. The delay affects both current NPOs and potential applicants, with updates expected after the Spending Review. Area teams will hold webinars to discuss local impacts.
*A National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) is an arts, cultural, or heritage organisation in England that receives regular funding from Arts Council England to deliver creative and cultural programmes that align with its strategy, Let’s Create.
Background: This event will build on the legacy of CVAN EM’s 2024 forum, What’s Changing in Lincolnshire, which focused on ambitious development in the county’s visual arts sector.
Event Structure:
- Dinner (5:30 – 6:15 PM):
A vegetarian meal will be provided for all attendees. If you have additional dietary requirements, please indicate these when booking. - Welcome (6:15 – 6:40PM):
- Welcome from Colette Griffin (Director, CVAN EM)
- Overview of Arts Council England’s funding changes by Ben Anderson (Creative and Executive Director, Lincoln Arts Centre)
- Time for questions.
- Updates from Lincolnshire-based National Portfolio Organisations (6:40 – 7:45PM):
- Updates on ongoing and future projects with a focus on opportunities for local creatives and communities. A full list of contributing NPOs will be shared ahead of the event.
- Q&A and open discussion covering the implications of Arts Council England’s NPO extension (2027–2028), the impact of devolution on local arts funding, and other sector developments
- Closing remarks (7:45 – 8PM):
- Final thoughts and thanks from the event hosts.
This session will encourage transparency, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing to support and strengthen Lincolnshire’s arts community.
Booking & Contact Information:
Attendance is free, but booking is required. Please register your attendance and provide any dietary or access requirements when booking.
For any questions, please contact Colette Griffin at colette@cvaneastmidlands.co.uk.
We look forward to welcoming you to this vital discussion for Lincolnshire’s visual arts sector.
Together we are creating culture is delivered by CVAN EM, the Contemporary Visual Arts Network for the region. Our purpose is to advocate for the contemporary visual arts in the East Midlands.
Image credit: What’s Changing in Lincolnshire (2024). Hosted by CVAN EM at The Hub. Photo by Emilie Nunn.