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COMMON GROUNDPeople · Place · Story · Access
Take Part

Take part · 16 free places

You do not need to call yourself creative.

18+ with Fenland roots or a real connection to Fenland? Start with your name and email. No portfolio or finished story idea needed.

March Library in Fenland
1. Raise your handName + email. We send a secure link.
2. Two short stepsEligibility, what brings you here, availability and any support you need.
3. SubmitWe review it and contact you. A saved draft is not a submitted application.

Beyond the workshop room · optional

What might spark your story?

A heritage boatyard. A landscape being rewilded. A cathedral approached through one human life. A museum while it is still being remade. A river from inside the boat. Around those featured doors, more conversations are developing across heritage, science, landscape, craft, archives and everyday working life.

The four workshops are the only core attendance commitment. Inspiration visits are voluntary. You may choose none, one or two depending on your interest and availability. Most should take a few hours or up to a half-day, plus travel, with exact details confirmed before you opt in.

These are examples of doors opening around the programme, not a promise that every experience will happen or be available to every participant. Declining an experience never affects participant selection or your place on the programme.

Fast first step

Interested? Just raise your hand.

Start with your name and email. You do not need a finished story, portfolio or long application now. We will send a secure link so you can add the fuller details afterwards.

18+Fenland roots16 free placesNo portfolio

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. If you grew up here or have deep family or community roots but now live just outside, raise your hand anyway and tell us about that connection.

What you are joining

Four workshops. A small group. Your own creative work.

Four workshops

Find, shape, make and refine your story across the four principal Saturdays. This is the core attendance commitment.

Your own work

Writing, audio, photography, film, visual work or a mixture. You do not need to decide before you start.

Optional inspiration

Choose none, one or two experiences if they would help spark your work. They are never compulsory.

Practical support

Individual help, equipment where needed, reasonable local travel costs, lunch and refreshments.

Your choice

Do I have to be filmed or publish my work? No.

Making something is not the same as agreeing to publish it. Filming, public sharing, your name and how your work appears are separate choices.

Already have your secure link?The application is two short steps and can be saved if you need to come back.

Open my application →

Current funded programme

Public funding supports the 2026–27 participant programme.

The current 16-person Digital Storytelling Lab is supported through Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants. Common Ground is the wider place-based storytelling platform around that funded spine.

Lottery Funded. Supported using public funding by Arts Council England.