Creative opportunities in Fenland
Free creative workshops for adults in Fenland.
Common Ground is a funded digital storytelling programme for adults aged 18+ living in Wisbech, March, Whittlesey, Chatteris and surrounding Fenland communities. You do not need creative qualifications, a portfolio or professional equipment.
What kind of workshops?
Writing, audio, photography, film and digital storytelling.
Common Ground is not a conventional computer course. The technology is there to help people make creative work from memory, place, identity and everyday experience. Across four principal workshops, participants move from finding a story to shaping it, making a first version and deciding how, or whether, they want to share it.
Individual production support is planned between sessions so people can get practical help with creative decisions, recording, editing and access needs rather than being left to figure everything out alone.
Who can take part?
Adults living across Fenland.
The programme is designed for adults aged 18 and over with Fenland roots or a meaningful connection to Fenland, including people in Wisbech, March, Whittlesey, Chatteris and surrounding villages. Priority goes to Fenland District residents, and people who grew up here but now live just outside can still apply. Participation is free.
You do not need
- previous arts experience
- editing skills
- a finished story idea
- professional cameras or microphones
- confidence speaking in public
- to agree to publish your final work
What could you make?
There is no single Common Ground format.
A family photograph
Start with what is visible, then ask what the picture leaves out.
A journey
Record the route, the sounds, the reasons for travelling and what changed afterwards.
A workplace
Document the routines, language, people and details outsiders would never notice.
A local place
Photograph or record the same place over time and tell the story of what changed.
An object
Use one ordinary object to open a story about family, work, migration, memory or belonging.
A voice
Record a conversation, spoken memory or piece of writing designed to be heard.
Where and when?
Fenland, November 2026 to May 2027.
The core project window runs from November 2026 to May 2027, with the four principal workshop Saturdays on 23 January, 20 February, 20 March and 17 April 2027, planned 10:30 to 15:30. Venues are still to be confirmed, so the website will not invent dates or locations before they are agreed. Current programme status is kept on the Common Ground homepage.
If you want to understand the project before deciding whether to take part, try the Story Lab. It takes about a minute and does not save your answers.
Common questions
Before you decide.
Are the workshops free?
Yes. Common Ground has 16 supported participant places and participation is free.
Do I need to be good with technology?
No. The programme is designed so people can learn through making, with practical support around the tools.
Do I need to live in Wisbech, March, Whittlesey or Chatteris?
Priority goes to people living in Fenland District, and those four market towns are named because they are major Fenland communities. Surrounding Fenland villages are included, and people with deep Fenland roots who have moved just outside the district can still apply.
Do I have to share my story publicly?
No. Publication is a choice. Consent, credit and visibility are reviewed before participant work is made public.
When do applications close?
No closing date is being published until the intake timetable is confirmed.
Common Ground Fenland
Curious is enough to start.
You can arrive with an idea, a photograph, a memory, an object, a place, a question or nothing yet.
