With the focus on Grimsby bidding to become ‘Town of Culture 2028’, it’s easy to focus on what the town could be, but what if our town’s ‘future’ is already in motion and just needs more investment and support to get there?
Over the past few years, due to investments like the ‘Town Deal’ and the Cultural Development Fund, together with more support from Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund – and coupled with the council taking culture as a whole much more seriously – things have certainly been building here, with creativity playing a starring role.
For fifteen years, The Culture House has been working to make cultural experiences in North East Lincolnshire not only accessible but a meaningful part of everyday life.
Through thought-provoking events and projects like Our Future Starts Here, Edible Grimsby, Festival of the Sea, Love Your Town, Picnic in the Park, Everybody Loves the Sunshine and more, over time we’ve created opportunities for people to come together, connect, and take part, while continuing to support and platform the phenomenal local talent that already exists here.
We’ve been around long enough to have experienced the benefits of the recent investments which have overall contributed to the long-term sustainability of the organisation. A success story is that a project commissioned in 2021, has now developed to secure longer-term funding and enable sustained delivery – something of a rarity in the arts world.
You have seen that – as, of course, long-term advocates for culture – we’ve joined the campaign for Grimsby Town of Culture 2028.
While there’s been lots of conversation around what the £3 million investment could make happen in the area, we have definitely been reflecting on what’s already in motion. As we’ve always said, there’s no shortage of creativity in this town, and the ambition and vision already exist.
With great natural timing, Spring 2026 brings new experiences for residents and visitors.
During April and May, our historic Grimsby Minster will host Helios, the stunning large-scale Sun installation by British artist Luke Jerram, whose previous works, Gaia and Museum of the Moon, have also been hosted for enthusiastic and appreciative audiences in North East Lincs. Set to transform the space and our experience of the town centre, Helios invites people to pause, look up, and experience something awe-inspiring together.
Alongside the installation, a wider ‘Our Future Starts Here’ programme will unfold, bringing together a range of activity that is designed to inspire change through creativity.
There will be opportunities for everyone to take part in a variety of activities, from relaxed, reflective sessions to live music and children’s events, with much of the programme free to access.
Some of these moments will sit alongside the chance to see Helios itself, including installations across the SEE THE LIGHT weekend, offering different ways for people to connect to wider nature and environment themes, while experiencing work from leading artists, both local and national.
As a whole package Helios, SEE THE LIGHT, and the wider Our Future Starts Here programme offer a glimpse of what’s possible when local partners and artists come together and play to their strengths with the best intentions for the towns. Not actually as a one-off moment, but as part of something that has been gradually building over the years.
Culture in Grimsby isn’t something waiting to arrive. It’s something that has been carefully cultivated over time through collaboration, persistence, and a shared belief in what this place can be.
The Town of Culture 2028 bid offers a chance to support and grow that work on a much larger scale. Led by the council, and shaped by ideas and input from across our community, this is an opportunity to celebrate our place while realising long-held ambitions.
For us, it is about transformation but we’re not starting from scratch. To be successful, Town of Culture 2028 needs to acknowledge and support the artists, the organisers, the communities and the audiences who have been a part of this journey for years. While bringing the big stuff that people can get involved in, that places like Grimsby can never usually afford.
In short, it’s absolutely time to shine, in our own sunrise.
