Artistic Director, ‘19 - ‘20
Mansions of the Future was a three year 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 and funded by Arts Council’s Ambitions for Excellence Fund.
The Project
The three year programme featured a unique public programme, and the team worked with both artists and local people to co-develop projects from inception to delivery. Unfolding in seasons including, the programme privileged 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 addressed the relationship between art, culture and democracy.
Mansions of the Future was supported by Arts Council England’s Ambition for Excellence fund in collaboration with the Lincoln Cultural and Arts Partnership.
The Programme
The Public Programme featured three core seasons of activity; Urban Form, Social Architecture & The Commons, Stories of Rights and Protest and Lincoln Live.
Alongside a curated public programme, the opportunity to ‘takeover’ the building offered communities the use of a fully equipped, free and safe space for social, cultural or educational activity. The building was used by local groups, organisations looking to co-design, co-create, experiment and build stronger creative economies through sharing ideas, opportunities and skills across a spectrum of creative platforms.
At its peak, the initiative saw 60 different groups and organisation making use of the space for one-off events and sustained activity.
The ‘Takeover’ initiative was part of a foundation for the ‘public use’ of the building devised by artist Kathrin Böhm as part of her Inaugural commission ‘Culture is a Verb’, which you can read more about Here.
Mansions of the Future was conceived by creative and cultural agency Thirteen Ways as a 3-year programme (2018 – 2020) exploring power and democracy within Lincoln. The project was funded by Arts Council England’s Ambition for Excellence fund in collaboration with the Lincoln Cultural and Arts Partnership.
You can learn more about Mansions of the Future’s Public Programme, Legacy Agenda and access the project’s archive via the button below.
Images courtesy and copyright of Mansions of the Future and the featured artists.
