Assistant Producer Bhav Bhella, Artistic Director Kerry Campbell, Conference Coordinator Carys Fieldon ,Volunteer Coordinator Beth Lambert, Curator Colette Griffin, Arts/Architecture Intern Selina Tarnowska and Press and Marketing Lead Tim Marks
Nestled between Lincoln’s Transport Hub and the rising Cornhill regeneration project is a cultural hub bringing communities across the city together with free public events, art and communal feasts.
Mansions of the Future on St Mary’s Street offers accessible spaces to hire which are enjoyed by around 70 community groups ranging from artists, theatre troops and crafters to support networks, disability groups, cycling enthusiasts, business groups and even UFO hunters.
Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Photo: Mansions of the Future
It also provides a programme of free cultural events with local, national and international contributors, all designed to fit their diverse city surroundings.
It’s brought to life by talks, workshops, communal lunches and family activities, and it also delivers unique, tailored programmes to communities outside of the city centre – all with the help of a 50-strong team of dedicated volunteers.
“While many arts organisations articulate what valid culture is, the use of this building and the beauty of Mansions of the Future is that it’s defined by the people who use the space,” explained Artistic Director Kerry Campbell.
Kerry with The Lincolnite’s Emily Norton showing exhibition spaces at the hub which showcase artists’ work and ongoing projects in the community. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Mansions of the Future is in its final legacy year of the three year project funded by Arts Council England’s Ambition for Excellence, in collaboration with the Lincoln Cultural and Arts Partnership.
Since its launch in May 2018 it has become embedded in the community with an array of events designed to be social, site specific and collaborative.
The ongoing Urban Form work in the Ermine community looks at the history, present and future of the estate through a lens of post war housing, the legacy of Sam Scorer, architecture and planning.
Some of its most successful projects have ranged from games nights to artist workshops.
Curator Colette Griffin said: “Our recent work for the current season, Urban Form: Social Architecture & The Commons, has taken us to the Ermine estate to look at the history of the place, the legacy of Sam Scorer and how the community value the spaces within it. It has been amazing to work with the local community there and we have discovered fascinating archives of history.
The Mansions communal Christmas lunch. Photo: Mansions of the Future
“But also the communal lunches, as an ongoing side, have been very successful.
“They are a great opportunity for emerging artists and have gone from strength to strength.”
Colette Griffin and Kerry Campbell. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Kerry added: “Food is a common denominator for social interaction. Networking and organic conversations across the table are a joy to watch, and people love it because it’s a free meal.
“They’re quite broad and have included spoken word, costumes and folk law. We even had a session dedicated to the lost art of eating rocks and salts. It had us all munching charcoal and salt lick!”
The takeover programme at the hub invited people to book the space for a range of groups and activities. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The reading room is always open to the public: Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
For now, the future of this community hub is unknown, and at the mercy of the next tranche of funding allocations.
The challenges faced by many local cultural organisations, like the Usher Gallery and community centres, may well see more groups coming together for collaborative funding pitches.
Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
“The need for a space that’s dual use is evident. We’re an important inter-locator for a range of creative organisations.
“We have artists on the bottom floor and we have creative businesses on the top floor like Frequency Festival and TED Ex.
“No one pays rent for the space and what these gestures do for the cultural infrastructure in the long-term is huge.
“We have been a catalyst for a positive change in the city. So now it’s thinking about what’s next. The funding we had was a one-off great for cities with cultural potential.”
Photo: Mansions of The Future
Photo: Mansions of The Future
Photo: Mansions of The Future
There’s lots to look forward to in the next few weeks, including a unique programme of social events as part of the team’s work in the Ermine and in collaboration with international design collective ON/OFF.
From February 19 to 22, people will have the chance to join a mobile “Public House’. It will act as a community built ‘shelter’ and will be paraded around a warm hearth or chiminea that invites people out of their homes and onto the streets to greet one another.
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Few people attended the second Kill the Bill protest in Lincoln on Saturday, as Extinction Rebellion activists stood alone on the High Street to campaign against a proposed policing bill that could make many protests illegal.
Activists from Extinction Rebellion Lincolnshire gathered at Speakers’ Corner to oppose plans for the latest Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which could curtail protesting rights if passed through parliament.
Extinction Rebellion were the main representatives at the protest. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Under the proposed bill, police officers will be given greater powers to put a stop to any protests, as well as determining start and finish times for them, and controlling noise levels.
A few stopped to talk with the protestors, but most just went about their day walking down Lincoln High Street in the first weekend that non-essential shops and beer gardens reopened.
The Lincolnite spoke to one of the rebels at the protest, to find out the reasons behind the march.
They said: “This draconian bill cannot go ahead, it needs to be taken apart and re-evaluted completely.
“People have been walking past us shaking their heads, but they don’t realise that it’s their freedom we are fighting for.”
The Lincolnite photographer Steve Smailes captured some pictures from the protest.
Signs were put up by the works at Speakers’ Corner on Lincoln High Street. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
A 19-year-old man is in hospital with serious injuries after a crash on the A52 on Friday evening.
The single-vehicle crash, involving a white Suzuki Splash, happened in the westbound lane of the A52 between Barrowby and Sedgebrook at around 7.20pm on Friday, April 16.
The driver of the car is now in hospital after suffering serious injuries, and police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.
Officers believe the driver had travelled from Grantham on the A52 at Barrowby before the crash.
Anyone who has dashcam footage or saw the vehicle before the incident is being asked to call 101, quoting incident 420 of April 16.
Alternatively, you can email [email protected], using the same reference in the subject box.
It has been a tragic week with three deaths on Lincolnshire’s roads after two male motorbike riders and a man on a pedal bike lost their lives.
The roads are now busier again after further lockdown restrictions were eased on April 12, but since then three men have sadly died.
A man died after falling from his pedal bike in Branston on Wednesday, April 14 and police said his death is not being treated as suspicious.
On the same day, a 34-year-old male died after a crash involving two motorcycles near Gainsborough.
The man who lost his life in the collision was riding a silver Wuyang motorcycle. The second motorcycle was a blue Suzuki being ridden by a man in his 30s, who was taken to hospital with suspected serious injuries.
A 54-year-old man from North Lincolnshire also died after his motorbike crashed with a Royal Mail post van on the A631 near Glentham at around 4pm on Thursday, April 15.
This comes after it was revealed on March 11 that for the first time in over three decades nobody had died on the county’s roads in the first months of the year, according to Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership.
Lincolnshire Police revealed earlier this week that between 2018 and 2020 twenty five motorcyclists lost their lives on Lincolnshire’s roads.