What was Common Ground?

Common Ground was a Norfolk & Norwich Festival 250 project, made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It was an action research project which connected young people in the East of England with their local natural and cultural heritage through the arts. The three-year funded project began in 2020 and finished in March 2023, working in partnership with heritage organisations, charities and artists throughout the region.  

Common Ground was about helping young people discover, define, and design Heritage across the East of England. It got young people involved in every aspect of the project from choosing what creative projects we ran, which artists we commissioned, and of course taking part. We had some fantastic partner organisations on board who are passionate about applying what we learnt from this project to the heritage sector across the region.

Over three years, the project engaged creatively and digitally with young people across the region, providing opportunities for 13-25 year olds to take part in events, projects, skills development, leadership training and paid traineeships.

The project was fluid and responsive, especially due to the impact of Covid, however at it’s core it was always about engaging young people with heritage through creative practice, alongside capturing youth voice and collaboration.

We aimed to help young people make their ideas come to life and valued them as collaborators. We wanted the young people involved to feel a clear sense of ownership and pride in what they made. They were co-creators of the project, and they were always given opportunities to not just give opinions but become collaborators and leaders.

Common Ground was delivered in partnership with Colchester + Ipswich Museums, Peterborough Limited, Norfolk and Norwich Festival, Norfolk Wildlife Trust, SHARE Museums East, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, National Trust, The Prince’s Trust and a wider creative community.