Children and young people will be invited to take part in a raft of creative activities being led by Our Big Picture and Unseen Arts in the coming months.
The two organisations, working with a range of local creatives, will together help deliver nearly £100,000 worth of activities across North East Lincolnshire as part of the work being driven by Create North East Lincolnshire. The programme is being funded by Arts Council England and the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
These projects were selected working with the Horizon Youth Zone Youth Development Group, who following an open call-out, established a selection panel of young people aged 14-18 to interview potential providers.
Lucy Ottewell-Key, Chief Executive Officer at Horizon Youth Zone, said “We’re proud to be able to give our Young People’s Development Group the opportunity to get involved in local projects and have their say on what is available to the community. Bringing opportunities to the young people of the area is what Horizon is all about.”
Across North East Lincolnshire, children and young people will have the opportunity to attend free regular participative workshops and activities inspired by their local heritage. With the theme of heritage, children and young people will be invited to create artistic content that means something to them about their place and their history with a final centrally located community sharing celebration event held early in 2026.
Our Big Picture’s project focuses on a ‘Cabinet of Curiosity’ travelling museum, to be designed and built with and by children and young people, who will then curate the cabinet with newly created heritage artifacts and treasures that they want to share with future generations. Creative activities will include exploring traditional arts skills from drawing, painting, print making, ceramics, movement, theatre, digital soundscapes and film. A passport reward system will track each individual’s creative journey throughout the programme.
Unseen Arts will be inspired by local iconic buildings and legends exploring these creatively with children and young people through aerial and circus arts, digital design, photography and illustration, TV and film production, SEN-specific courses, theatre and movement and music production.
Both organisations will cater for younger audiences with immersive storytelling sessions for early years children, alongside an accessible programme for home educated families, and skills development for young people and creatives in the early stages of their careers.
Director of Children’s Services, Ann-Marie Matson, stated: “There’s so many exciting things for children and young people to get involved in, and experience culture in all its wonderful shapes and forms in the coming months. It’s important that the Horizon young people’s group and other youth advisory boards continue to be involved as the programme is delivered to keep young people’s voice at the heart of our delivery and decision making.”
Paula Denton, from Our Big Picture located in the heart of Grimsby, said: “It has been an excellent development and selection process, we have incorporated our children and young people’s requests, wants and needs into the project and to have this endorsed by being selected at the Horizon panel was very special. We are really looking forward to delivering this project and are encouraging our local young people to get involved.
“We will be working with a range of artists and heritage experts to deliver the programme that we hope will inspire young people to consider a career in the creative industries.”
Natasha Morley and Lynsey Wells from Unseen Arts, said: “We’re really excited to be delivering this with young people to help them connect with their history through creativity. We want young people to be proud of their heritage by retelling, remixing and reimagining our shared past in new and inspiring ways.”
The creative leads will be popping up at events across the borough to promote the activity. Catch them at makers markets, Festival of the Sea Grimsby, and I Fest (in Immingham).
Pete Massey, Director Yorkshire and the Humber, Arts Council England, added: “Ensuring that children and young people are able to experience and take part in creativity and culture is a priority for the Arts Council and so it’s fantastic to see the range of opportunities that will be available through this project.
“Our Place Partnership programme is designed to help involve the local community in the development of cultural activity and it’s great to see that the children and young people will be involved in decision making around the project and can create creative content that is relevant to them and where they live.”
If you want to know more or want to get involved, contact [email protected] or [email protected]
Information about the projects will be shared on Our Big Picture, Unseen Arts, Create NEL (Grimsby Creates), Horizon Youth Zone, Families First, Arts Council England and Council socials!
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