By Historical listed building given new lease of life by arts charity
Arts and heritage organisation Our Big Picture has successfully bought the Grade II listed building on Bethlehem Street, Grimsby as their new home.
Dating from 1781 and formally known as Canters Estate Agents and The Gentry hairdressers, the buildings and yard will be turned into flexible and adaptable creative spaces to expand the range and scope of the arts and heritage projects.
Our Big Picture is an arts and heritage charity based in NE Lincolnshire, that believe that everyone has the right to art in their lives.
They deliver experiences such as public artwork, exhibitions in public spaces, young people activities including the Imaginarium, children and family workshops and drop-in art sessions, events, and online activities.
Paula Denton, CEO of Our Big Picture, said: “It has been a long process and we thank our funders and stakeholders for their continued support and belief in the project. We feel really privileged to be the custodian of this building, an exciting future legacy for the arts and culture of the town.
“The building will have a studio and different creative spaces but it will very much be a place of exploration of a variety of community-led thematic projects from our local heritage to social issues, finding new and creative collaborations.”
£170,000 from the National Lottery Fund was awarded to the charity to buy the building and create a two-year programme of engaging activities.
David Renwick, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “We’re delighted to have supported Our Big Picture to acquire these wonderful heritage sites in the centre of Grimsby that will now become their permanent home. Grimsby, and North East Lincolnshire as a whole, holds incredibly diverse and fascinating histories, but in recent years the area has not received the funding to showcase these stories more widely. Here at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, we’ve committed to ensuring that areas that have not benefitted from high levels of investment are given the opportunity to use their stories to bring communities together and instil a real sense of pride of place for people.
“Thanks to National Lottery players, we’re delighted to see that Our Big Picture can continue building on their fantastic work and giving the communities of North East Lincolnshire an opportunity to explore that heritage.”
Cllr Tom Furneaux, North East Lincolnshire Council’s Cabinet member for culture, heritage and the visitor economy, said: “I’m delighted that this heritage building has been secured for future use with the help of our Towns Fund programme, helping to secure additional investment from The National Lottery Heritage Fund into Grimsby. It’s projects like this that help us, in partnership with others, deliver the Town Centre Masterplan, Heritage Action Zone and Creativity Strategy in Grimsby, and I’d like to applaud Our Big Picture for taking this brave step and bringing a new offer to local people.”
(Image: Our Big Picture)
