Lincoln Drill Hall, a main building in the city since 1890, is at risk of closing by the end of this year unless a considerable fundraising target of £130,000, is met.
The Future of the Lincoln Drill Hall remains a cause for concern.
Run by Lincoln Arts Trust since 2010, the venue needs to raise the funds for this annual payment, alongside additional revenue that will support the various community projects and programmes. In order to do this the trust had to implement structural and ticketing changes, at the end of last year.
The Lincoln Arts Trust receives funding from public income streams and the Arts Council England. The ACE provide the Lincoln Drill Hall with £207,194 a year, however reductions in other areas have caused constraints in the provision of events.
Fundraising events such as the ‘Be a brick’ campaign and the ‘Pay what you want’ scheme, have been introduced as a way of reaching out to the community and ensuring that talent is being supported here, for many years to come.
The ‘Be a brick’ campaign allows individuals to sponsor a virtual brick from £10 and in doing so, they can engrave a message of their choice to a loved one.
This is one of the initiatives that the Lincoln Arts Trust is pushing forward and it will go a long way in making sure that community programmes remain in place, for the people of Lincoln.
The Big Butterfly Club is a monthly community event and this night is a safe way for disabled adults in the city, to improve their confidence and meet new people. It represents how welcoming this place is to so many people, regardless of their background.
Question Time appeared for the fourth time at Lincoln Drill Hall last Thursday, and with celebrities such as Jason Donovan appearing to talk about his Amazing Mid-life Crisis on February 12th, it shows that the venue can still attract popular stars.
Chris Kirkwood, CEO of the Lincoln Arts Trust, remarked that Lincoln Drill Hall was the ‘cultural heartbeat to Lincoln’, when taking up the role of Chief Executive back in 2012. He said this in relation to what it meant to the people of Lincoln: “We mean an awful lot of different things, to a lot of different people. The important word is experiences. Whether it is Theatre, Panto or an Art class, we want to provide these experiences for years to come”.
“We want to be dynamic and the fundraising events that we have planned for this year, will help us look towards that”.
Lincoln Drill Hall remains set to face testing times, over this calendar year.