SOUTH HOLLAND’S arts scene is to be transformed when £2.6million is ploughed into the area for new projects.
The huge investment comes from Arts Council England for a project to encourage people in South Holland to take up artistic interests.
Members of South Holland and Boston Creative People and Places Arts Consortium successfully bid for the cash to fund a three-year project called Transported involving artists, haulage businesses, South Holland District Council and other organisations.
The project will be put together by the consortium after public consultation over the next six months and organisers are determined to ensure that its influence continues after the project’s three-year period.
Spalding-based artist Gillian Wing, a consortium member, said: “A few months ago, Arts Council England did a presentation at the South Holland Centre where they showed that South Holland and Boston were in the bottom 20 per cent of cultural participation areas in the country.
“Arts Council England put aside £37million to fund arts projects nationwide and as a member of Lincolnshire Artist Forum, I was part of a team which decided to put together a bid for some of the money.
“There was a very short timescale to put the bid together and it needed to be an amount that was going to make a difference in our area.
“We put in for £2.6million and that’s what we’ve been awarded, so we’re very excited and we can’t believe it.”
Gillian was helped in putting the bid together by another Spalding-based artist and chairman of Lincolnshire Artist Forum, Carol Parker.
She said: “This project is an outstanding opportunity for participatory arts of all types in South Holland and Boston.
“The first phase will involve working with local residents and artists across the area to develop plans and we hope everyone will help us by joining in.”
Peter Knott, director of Arts Council England, said: “We were impressed by the innovative and engaging vision of this project and the plan to give communities a voice in a very imaginative way.”