The second year of Mansfield District Council as a National Portfolio Organisation has seen a long list of achievement in raising the quality and quantity of artistic opportunity in the district.
From expanding the diversity of audiences at the Palace Theatre and staging a series of major outdoor events and exhibitions of national significance, to offering ‘arts on prescription’ activities to vulnerable people, the Arts Council England NPO funding has been making a valuable impact on the quality of life for residents.
The NPO status, approved in 2022, means the council has been awarded over £1.7m from Arts Council England (ACE) to deliver creative and cultural activity in the community.
The grant is delivered over three years in payments of £579,304 and used to provide various projects at Mansfield Museum and Palace Theatre and in the community.
To be eligible for the funds, the council had to demonstrate it could contribute strongly to the ACE Let’s Create project, a 10-year vision that allows everyone to experience high-quality cultural experiences in England.
In the past year, among the achievements of the council’s Cultural Services has been to improve the ambition and quality of the cultural services and artistic opportunities in the district.
The funds have allowed time and space for new work across a range of artforms, partnerships, mentorship, and collaboration alongside workshops and masterclasses to support skills development within the creative sector.
At Mansfield Museum, public consultations have helped shape exhibitions and make them more attractive to younger audiences by adding interactive elements.
Cultural Services are now better aligned with the council’s goals on climate change, with sustainability embedded into the museum’s forward plan.
Sustained creative activity in priority neighbourhoods since April 2024 has seen 70 participants in social prescribing activities. All participants are vulnerable adults, including individuals with learning disabilities, mental health conditions, or long-term health conditions.
David Evans, Assistant Director of Health, Communities and Insight, said: “The council has made impressive progress as an NPO and its programme aligns strongly with the council’s strategic goals of fostering a vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable cultural landscape.
“These initiatives not only enhance local cultural opportunities but also contribute to the long-term vision of a more connected, creative, and resilient Mansfield, helping to ensure that we meet the needs of our communities and continue to build a thriving cultural future.”
A report to the council’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee (Communities and Services) updated councillors on how the council was meeting its service delivery obligations attached to the NPO status.
NPO supported events and cultural activities in 2024-2025 included:
- Major outdoor events including Mansfield Town Carnival 2024, the Timisien Luminarium at Chesterfield Road Park, Oddsocks theatre performances, and Light Night in Carr Bank Park which engaged diverse audiences and activated public spaces.
- Exhibitions of national significance at Mansfield Museum including Flight of Pixels; Dinosaurs: Weird and Wonderful; Threads of Time (in partnership with the BBC), Tattooing in the UK - Miners, Misconceptions and His Majesty, and Football – The Beautiful Game.
- A musician-in-residence project to weave classical music into lessons at a primary school in Mansfield.
- Family orientated classical chamber music concerts and ballet performance.
- Networking opportunities for local artists and businesses.
- Creative writing and storytelling workshops for students and schoolchildren.
- Inclusive activities, such as a themed quiz for young LGBTQ+ people. Mansfield Town Film Festival celebrated Pride Month with screenings of "LGBTQIA+ Voices" and “Working Class Voices”.
- Reaching out to celebrate the cultural diversity of Mansfield including The Gathering, in which members of the local Latvian, Keralan, and Polish communities shared their personal stories.
- Continued support for local artists and showcasing events for local writers including a workshop to help equip artists with the knowledge and skills to navigate funding opportunities.
- Family-focused programming at Mansfield Museum which enabled home education workshops and exciting extra events to run in tandem with major exhibitions, such as "Disco with the Dinosaurs" alongside the “Dinosaurs: Weird and Wonderful” exhibition.
- The Youth Collective, set up to enable young people to develop creative concepts and ideas and access work experience opportunities.
- Out of the Box, a creative showcase, to enable performances by adults with learning disabilities.
- Audience development efforts with particular success in the jazz series. It also focused on increasing younger audiences. A yoga workshop was held to diversify audiences in the gallery.
- Commissioned work from six paid associate artists covering a variety of artforms and support for seven artists to develop their creative skills with project grants.
- A Technical Academy to support skills development for young people including two apprentices.
- Conservation work on over 500 museum’s bird specimens.
- The formation of two strategic creative partnerships with Architects of Air (The Luminarium), and Nottingham Playhouse.
- An engagement evening called Cocktails and Canvas which led to valuable insights from visitors and enhanced connections with the local community