If you have visited us, taken part in a workshop, exhibited your work, or popped in for a chat over the past year, we want to say “thank you”, because we wouldn’t have gotten this far without you.
To say thank you properly, we threw an End of Term Party on Friday 31st July, celebrating a year in our space and marking the end of term, before we took a much-needed break. Doors opened at 10am as an open house, with our exhibition rounding up some of the brilliant work made in our space this year. Then, from 2pm to 4:30pm we closed to the general public, cranked up the music, and enjoyed some end-of-term frivolities with the people who’ve made this year what it’s been. Thank you to everyone who came along and joined us at Bingo, and a huge thank you to Owen Kimble for playing us some tunes.
A Year in Numbers
Since opening our doors in Freshney Place in September 2025, People Make Grimsby has grown into a community arts space and heritage hub for Grimsby’s print industry – and the first year has been a busy one.
- 15 exhibitions and events
- 57 workshops, from linocut and screen printing to willow lanterns, cyanotype and zine-making.
- Over 4,600 visitors through our doors
- 25 local creatives who have delivered, collaborated on, or presented work in the space
- Over 25 partner organisations and funders, including the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the British Library, the School of Social Entrepreneurs and Create North East Lincolnshire.
Many of our workshops have been produced in partnership with local schools, heritage groups, artists and national organisations.
Our Print Heritage Project
As part of What If We Create CIC’s National Lottery Heritage Funded project, People Make Grimsby is home to our Grimsby print heritage project. This funding has allowed us to create four part-time role dedicated to exploring and recording Grimsby’s printmaking past, and to build a regular programme of drop-in sessions, which have attracted a steadily growing community of repeat contributors and visitors.
More Than Footfall
This milestone is as much about partnerships and connections as it is about visitor numbers. Since opening, we’ve welcomed members of the public in to learn, view, discuss and buy from our pop-up maker space, alongside the local creatives and partner organisations who’ve made the space their own too.
Looking Ahead To Autumn
We’re already planning our print heritage exhibition as part of Heritage Open Days this September, which will run across several dates, with drop-in sessions for the public and material that has never been on show before. Our full autumn 2026 programme of workshops and events will be announced very soon.
Thank you again for a brilliant first year – here’s to the next one.
Read our Annual Report 2026 here.
