South and East Lincolnshire Culture Conference 2025

Share your story at the South and East Lincolnshire Culture Conference on 25th June.

Join us on Wednesday 25th June at the South Holland Centre, for a vibrant day dedicated to our cultural landscape. Expect insightful discussions, opportunities for collaboration, and a chance to celebrate the unique stories of our region.

This free conference is to be held at the South Holland Centre from 10am to 4pm and promises to be an inspiring day of learning, sharing, networking and collaboration.

Introducing Story Tellers

On the day we will be introducing you all to our new National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) branding; Story Tellers. Story Tellers gives us a wonderful way to bring together all the amazing work those involved in NPO are doing to bring to life arts and heritage in South and East Lincolnshire.

Councillor Graham Marsh, East Lindsey District Council's representative on the NPO culture board, Councillor Sarah Sharpe, Boston Borough Council's representative on the NPO culture board, and Councillor Elizabeth Sneath, South Holland District Council's representative on the NPO culture board tell us;

“The power of storytelling is fundamental to understanding and celebrating our shared heritage and future aspirations and this conference provides the perfect platform for connection, strengthening the shared cultural landscape of our part of the county. We hope to see and hear lots of local arts, culture and heritage organisations there on the day to share their journeys, learnings and opportunities together.”

Learning and Sharing

We're delighted that Claire Buckley, Julie’s Bicycle Programme Lead, will be joining us as our keynote speaker.

Throughout the day there will also be breakout sessions on a variety of topics, including funding a & evaluation and digital storytelling. To make the day even more personal, we're inviting every attendee to send us an image and a sentence showcasing a creative success they've achieved in the past year!

The afternoon is dedicated to networking, allowing us to better understand the sector and explore contributions to our key cultural frameworks: Culture for All, Cultural Infrastructure, Culture for Health and Wellbeing, and Cultural Places.

Your Moment to Shine: Lightning Pitches Available!

Don't miss out on the chance to highlight your work! We're thrilled to offer lightning pitch opportunities for attendees. This really celebrates YOUR stories. There is an option for 15 delegates to take part in a lightening pitch round where you can speak to the whole room about what you have been working on and your plans for the year ahead, these places will be given on a first come first served basis. You'll be able to select this in the 'add-ons' section during the online registration, so make sure you secure your chance to speak!

Breaking out!

When you book your place on the conference you will have be able to choose two breakout sessions to attend; one before lunch and one after. Check out the breakout sessions below and then head straight to book your place!

1. Why Immersion Matters: Telling Stories You Can Step Into
   John Whall and Paul Long MBD

2. Story Tellers Q and A – Meet the Story Tellers team and find out more about their plans for 25/26

3. International Stories
   Kieran Spiers, Magna Vitae

4. Ayscoughfee Hall Heritage Tour – Learn more about our creative hub site and hear some of the stories from the hall.
   Julia Knight, Museum Manager

5. Seeking out community stories NOT AVAILBLE TO BOOK FOR THE AFTERNOON SESSION
   Anna Scott Transported

6. Inclusivity and Engagement: Telling everyone’s story
   Colin Hopkirk and Vicky Thomson from

7. Heritage and Wellbeing – embedding wellbeing in core heritage programmes
   Desi Gardinova from

8. Meet the Digital Culture Network 

   Join Andy Leitch from Arts Council England’s Digital Culture Network and find out what is available to support you with telling your project’s story.