We can’t believe it’s been 15 years since the founding of The Culture House.
It feels closer to five, although it’s been a mammoth journey, with lots of trials, tribulations, successes, failures, learning, development, tears, joy and fun along the way.
What started out as the want to ‘make Grimsby a bit more cultural’ – with a passion for live performance and all things “culture” – eventually became a major mission that has certainly contributed to a recent shift locally. After a ‘slow burn’, we’re now seeing an evolving and improving cultural offer with many more opportunities for creatives, thanks to more serious, much-needed investment for our place.
Having started in the arts field as an ‘arts development officer’ for North East Lincolnshire Council in 2003 – again really with just a passion for live music – Charlotte began the journey by producing Cleethorpes Jazz Weekend and the ‘Lit.Com’ literature and comedy festival. She then later left with ambitions to reach more people with public money and to create a more of a vibrant outdoor atmosphere – as well as to support artists out of the shadows and just generally shout about culture and why we need it.
Fifteen years on and with Becky joining halfway through with the same level of passion, dedication and work ethic, it’s been mission accomplished (albeit having taken probably ten more years than anticipated and really only getting to ‘Level 1’ given the challenges of the place we live in and love).
The Culture House started at a time when there was very little cultural provision or creative opportunities for North East Lincolnshire’s 180,000 residents.
Long-standing institutions like Grimsby Auditorium and The Caxton Theatre were doing their own good work, as were a range of societies. However, there were gaps (and still are) – the streets needed to come to life more, we needed to inject some colour, joy and fun and we needed to look outside of town, see what other places were benefitting from and bring that here.
It was Culture House’s mission (and still is) to make culture accessible without people having to travel for an exciting, different or memorable experience. Why couldn’t we have the same stuff close to where we lived?? Grimsby deserved the same as anywhere else!
It’s been an incredible ‘slog’ – a story of perseverance, of at times wanting to quit and at others just absolutely buzzing and feeling the positivity and appreciation for all the artists, events and performances along the way. We’ve proven a point and the case that culture is needed (and the benefits it brings). We’ve celebrated creativity, we’ve championed our place and now we have the pleasure of looking back and reflecting on the journey and the shift that’s happened (although as said, there is still so much to do).
From artists, comedians, musicians and storytellers, to writers, acrobats, dancers and singers, we’ve hosted and celebrated them all and what they do. We’ve enlivened spaces, brought new experiences and seen joy on people’s faces…and among others things we’ve consistently said Grimsby is great in the face of it having a bad name. We’ve champion our local talent and our place and we’re proud of what we’ve done.
It’s all done with love and commitment, in an effort to ensure our hometown gets at least a proportion of what it deserves. We weren’t stopping til we got there! Here’s to 15 more years!
We’d like to thank all those who have supported us along the way, including the amazing national partners we’ve both worked with and been supported by – including Walk the Plank, Emergency Exit Arts and Without Walls, without their mentorship and ‘coaching’ in times of challenge, it’s difficult to say if we’d still be doing this. We also by a quirk through Creative United found our way to the most amazing business mentor Jane Rice-Bowen (no relation), who basically ensured that we came back after Covid through many late night applications, moral support and more. And of course not to mention all of the brilliant artists we’ve worked with over the years, both local and national – it always stuns us, (as well as obvious talent) how much heart and soul they have and how much their intentions are “pure gold”. Culture House wouldn’t be anything without them. They’re the foundation.
Over the next fifteen weeks we’re excited to be going deeper into telling our story, with a different theme each week covering what we do and why, what we’ve learned and the changes we’ve seen – key events, turning points and triumphs and tribulations along the way.
Hold on for Fifteen Things We’ve Learned – coming soon.
