New culture board holds first meeting

​The South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership has held the first meeting of a new, strategic eight member board, drawing on their experience from a variety of sectors to lead cultural change in South & East Lincolnshire.

The members met for its first quarterly meeting last week to appoint a chairman, tour two of the proposed new ‘cultural hubs’ at The Guildhall in Boston and Ayscoughfee Hall and Gardens in Spalding, and discuss future actions.

The new board members are Rob Pitman of Paradigm Arts; Coun Graham Marsh, Deputy leader of East Lindsey District Council; Coun Sarah Sharpe, portfolio holder for Culture at Boston Borough Council, and Coun Elizabeth Sneath, portfolio holder for Conservation and Heritage at South Holland District Council.

Also on the board are Claire Foster of Boston College, Tracy Stringfellow of Heritage Lincolnshire, former advertising and marketing expert Mark Rice, and Sarah Grundy of Lincolnshire County Council.

One of the key roles of the board will be to lead on the Partnership’s ambitious three-year National Portfolio Organisation programme, a £2million Arts Council England funded programme to support art, culture, heritage and creativity across the Partnership area, providing meaningful opportunity and programming for residents, developing the sector and helping to build our arts, culture and heritage capacity.

Newly-elected chairman of the board, Rob Pitman, said: “The opportunity to meet face to face with everyone and have privileged tours of Boston’s Guildhall and Spalding’s Ayscoughfee Hall and Gardens was not only a great place to begin but an opportunity to reflect. Lincolnshire has such a wealth of culture and its impact on the globe should not be underestimated. Knowing where we’ve come from, helps guide us into an exciting future and this opportunity is so full of potential. We can’t wait to get started!”