Questions people are actually asking.

The 16 funded participant places are for adults aged 18+ with genuine Fenland roots or a meaningful connection to Fenland. Priority goes to people living in Fenland District, including Wisbech, March, Whittlesey, Chatteris and the surrounding villages and communities. You do not have to live in one of the four main towns.

If you grew up in Fenland, or have deep family, work or community roots here, but have since moved just outside the district, you can still apply and we will consider your connection. That is not a promise of automatic eligibility. Every application is assessed consistently against connection to Fenland, programme fit, access, capacity and cohort balance. If Fenland is simply somewhere you like visiting, a practitioner, host or partner route may suit you better.

No portfolio, qualification or professional creative experience is required. The public criteria are deliberately simple: you must be 18+, have genuine Fenland roots or a meaningful connection to Fenland, and be interested in taking part in the creative journey.

Applications are checked consistently, with a short conversation where useful. We are not looking for the most polished artist or the biggest profile.

The four principal workshop dates are 23 January, 20 February, 20 March and 17 April 2027, planned for 10:30–15:30. These four workshops are the core attendance commitment for participants.

Everything else around them is optional. Inspiration visits and access experiences are offered by choice only; you can attend none, one or two depending on what genuinely interests you and what is practical. Most should be thought of as a few hours or up to a half-day, plus travel, with exact timing confirmed before you opt in. Individual creative support between workshops is also there to help rather than create another compulsory session.

If access, caring, work or another practical issue affects one of the four workshop dates, tell us rather than ruling yourself out.

No. They are completely voluntary and exist to offer extra inspiration, not to test commitment or eligibility. You may choose none, one or two. Declining an experience does not affect your place on Common Ground, your support, or how your work is treated.

Yes. Participant places are free. The programme includes the four workshops, individual creative support, equipment where needed, reasonable local travel costs for in-person Common Ground activity, lunch and refreshments on workshop days, and optional creative inspiration experiences.

No. You can use your own phone, laptop or creative kit if that suits you, but not owning equipment should not stop you taking part. Recorders, cameras and other useful equipment can be provided or lent where needed.

You develop a story or creative response in a form that fits the material: writing, audio, photography, film, visual work or mixed media. You can begin with a person, place, object, memory, sound, encounter or question. You do not need to arrive with a finished idea.

The intended working model is 16 participants in four small groups of four. The smaller groups make it easier to know each other, combine different creative strengths and work alongside practitioners.

Each participant still develops their own participant-led creative output. A group may also make an additional shared response — for example a short film following the group's journey — where that genuinely fits and everyone involved has agreed. A collaborative piece does not replace the 16 individual outputs.

You finish with a real piece of creative work you have developed with support, plus practical experience of shaping and producing a digital story. The programme also creates opportunities to encounter people and places you might not normally access.

Participant-approved work can become part of the Common Ground digital exhibition and public Fenland showcase. Wider sharing may happen where it makes sense and the right permissions are in place. This is a creative programme, not a promise of commercial exposure or paid work.

No. Making something is not the same as agreeing to publish it. Filming, public sharing, crediting your name and wider distribution are separate choices. Work can remain private, and participants can choose how they are credited where publication is agreed.

Common Ground was designed and is led by Tawanda Mukoko through Mukoko.Studio as a Fenland Digital Storytelling Lab: 16 local adults making participant-led work that together can form an evolving portrait of the place.

The project is supported through Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants. Local organisations, councils, community groups, creative practitioners and hosts may support recruitment, access or delivery, but exploratory conversations are not presented as formal partnerships until they are genuinely confirmed.

No. Common Ground is a people-led digital storytelling programme. Participants make and shape their own stories through writing, sound, photography, film, visual work and mixed media. Digital tools can be useful where appropriate, but AI is not the purpose of the project and does not replace participant authorship or consent.

The funded delivery window runs from November 2026 to May 2027. The four main workshops run from January to April 2027, with the public showcase planned for May.

Common Ground is a Fenland programme. Final workshop and showcase venue details are only published once confirmed. Optional inspiration or access experiences may also take participants to relevant places outside Fenland; they are voluntary and the participant stories and point of view remain rooted in the programme.

Usually: open one useful door for a small participant group, often around four people. That might be a short behind-the-scenes visit, conversation, tour, demonstration, object, archive encounter or introduction to someone with a story. Hosts are not expected to run a full creative workshop unless that is separately discussed and agreed.

No. The place is the doorway; the participant's response is the story. A host offers access or inspiration, and participants decide what they notice and make from the encounter. Common Ground is not commissioning adverts or venue publicity in exchange for access.

No. A visit does not create an automatic right to record, film or publish. Recording, identifiable people, restricted spaces, host naming and any later public use are handled through the relevant permissions. An experience can still be creatively valuable even where no filming is allowed.

The Fenland residency rule applies to the 16 participant places, not automatically to every practitioner. Practitioner commitments are role-specific: a lead role may span the main workshop journey, while a specialist contribution may be one focused session or a smaller block of work. The published role listing and written agreement are the source of truth for each paid role.

No. Common Ground already has a funded programme spine and four-stage creative journey. Practitioners shape their contribution within that structure rather than inventing the project from scratch. Participant equipment is planned separately; any specialist materials, equipment, preparation or travel needs should be made clear when a role is agreed, because exact fee inclusions vary by role.

Yes. Community workers, friends, family members and local organisations can point a Fenland adult towards Common Ground. Use the Refer Someone page or share the Take Part page. The person should make their own choice about applying; please do not send sensitive personal information about someone without their permission.