Grants awarded to local creatives to develop new ideas

A total of more than £61,000 has been awarded to 13 local creative individuals and organisations to help them test and develop ambitious and innovative ideas which can then be upscaled in the future.

The “Creative Ambition Pilot” grants have been made available as part of the Grimsby Creates programme, with up to 100% funding available following an application process.

Over the next six months, the programme will provide seed funding to encourage the development of new partnerships.

It is anticipated that the outcome of the initial scoping work will be funding applications to organisations such as Arts Council England to deliver projects of scale.

Creative individuals and organisations receiving funding include artistic collaborations, children’s theatre, local history and a pilot comedy festival. Two examples of the funding received are:

Grimsby-based Red Herring Games has received a grant to do the research and development work on a free training programme to help people develop their creative writing skills. Jo Smedley from the company explained: “We’re planning to link up with other local people, existing authors and organisations to build a creative writing project inspired by North East Lincolnshire as a place, with the ultimate aim of a published work. We want to mentor and foster creative writers in the local area, build local relationships with institutes and authors, and develop new writers’ knowledge and skills.”

Meanwhile, Gary Swan has received a grant to develop the concept for a new music festival for North East Lincolnshire. “I want to join the dots together in terms of what could be provided, how it could work, and how we could put on a multi-stage and venue festival to showcase the “sound of North East Lincolnshire. I want people to be inspired to pick up an instrument, to take part and promote the great culture we have here.”

Cllr Tom Furneaux, Cabinet member for culture, said: “This fund will help provide resource for creative people and organisations with capacity to consider ambitious projects which build on the successes of the Grimsby Creates programme and Heritage Starter Fund.

“North East Lincolnshire’s cultural scene is growing rapidly which can be seen in events like Festival of the Sea, murals from Creative Start, outdoor concerts at the Meridian Showground and visual arts in Grimsby Minster. I’m really looking forward to seeing how local organisations and individuals can make the most of the grants, and create a collaborative working relationship between arts, heritage and culture practitioners in our borough.”

The full list of successful projects is:

• East Marsh United (Josie Moon): Developing Grassroots Community Creativity in the East Marsh of Grimsby
• Susan Baker: Walking Past. A collaboration of artists and creatives marking making 2D and 3D work and using storytelling and digital media to create access to, and nurture an interest in art and heritage
• Red Herring Games (Jo Smedley) : Safe Harbour Planning and Pilot. To support unpublished writers
• Gary Swan: Revival Festival. Exploring development of music festival
• Music in Mind CI0 (John McHugh): Grimsby Voice ‘Explore’. Exploring local dialect in schools with music.
• Annabel McCourt: Catch Me if you Can. Development of major project exploring invisible and odourless gases working with South Humber Bank industries.
• Breakwater Theatre (Andy Evans): Kasbah Theatre – a viability week. Testing whether a children’s theatre could be established
• Frances Hodson: Stories from the Collection. Exploring ways to share ephemera, social history and costume from NELC collection.
• Emma Lawn: Coritani Heritage Project Development. Developing a music and storytelling performance about the Coritani (Corieltauvi) tribe
• Gill Hobson: New Lights. Developing new collaborative light based visual art project.
• Lauren Smith: NEL Comedy Festival. Researching the development of a new comedy festival.
• Lowercase Theatre (Lisa February and Matt Gray): Research and Development for Lowercase Theatre’s First Piece of Theatre
• Lynsey Powles: Abandoned. Exploring using abandoned spaces for temporary exhibitions.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport funds the Cultural Development Fund, which is administered by Arts Council England.