We’ve moved! Zest joins The Barbican Creative Hub
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After many years at The Terrace, Zest has officially moved into Barbican Creative Hub in Lincoln city centre. It’s a vibrant new base that places us at the heart of a growing creative community.
A new home for creativity in Lincoln
Barbican Creative Hub is an ambitious new centre for Lincolnshire’s creative and cultural industries. Inside the restored Grade II listed Barbican Hotel, you’ll find workspaces, studios, meeting rooms, and a soon-to-open café bar.
It not only offers a collaborative space, but the Barbican also makes a visible statement in the confidence of Lincoln’s creativity. The renovation is remarkable, with every detail carefully considered from the original to environmentally friendly and modern workspaces.
Being here connects us with organisations and individuals who share our vision for creativity, including fellow National Portfolio Organisations Lincoln Arts Centre and the University of Lincoln. The National Portfolio is Arts Council England’s regular funding programme, designed to support arts organisations, museums, and libraries across England, helping communities everywhere access creativity and culture. With the backing of Arts Council England, all our efforts focus on delivering cultural work that makes a meaningful difference to people’s lives. By being based together, we can strengthen partnerships and open new opportunities to learn, collaborate, and grow.
Our presence at Barbican Creative Hub reflects Zest’s wider role in the cultural landscape. We are here to connect people, share experiences and contribute to the network that helps Lincolnshire’s creative industries continue to evolve.
Photos provided by Barbican Creative Hub / by Tom Hall Boehringer
Why now
This move comes at an important time for Zest. After a busy summer of delivering The Zone and Sound Board nationally across towns, city centres, and festivals, we are building on that momentum as we look ahead. Thousands of young people have taken part in our work this year, shaping our understanding of what they need from the spaces and experiences we create.
As we are midway through our current funding cycle as an Arts Council England NPO, it has become a natural point to refresh our focus and plan for the next phase of our development. The Barbican gives us an inspiring base for that work. It’s a place designed for ideas to flow, where collaboration happens through proximity, and where ambition can be turned into real, practical progress.
“Barbican Creative Hub is more than an office for us. It’s a home within a community that believes in what creativity can do for Greater Lincolnshire. Joining this space feels like the right move at the right moment”
— Toby Ealden, Artistic Director & CEO, Zest
Looking back
We want to thank City of Lincoln Council for welcoming us at The Terrace since Zest’s earliest days. It was our first home and the place where many of our most significant projects began, from touring productions to youth-led programmes that have shaped lives across the county.
The Terrace was where Zest grew from a local company into a national organisation rooted in its community. The Barbican now offers a home that matches that growth, one that keeps us connected, curious and ready for what comes next.
