For Organisations
Creative projects rooted in place, attention and community
This Place Speaks works with schools, councils, community groups, health partners, cultural organisations and funders to create meaningful place-based projects.
Every project begins with a conversation.
We listen to the needs of the people, the place and the organisation before shaping a programme that fits.
No two projects are ever the same.
How we can work together
We can design and deliver creative programmes that help people:
- slow down and pay attention
- connect with the places around them
- explore memory, story and belonging
- build confidence through creative expression
- take part in walking, listening and outdoor activity
- contribute to something shared and lasting
Our projects can include walking, field recording, creative writing, storytelling, photography, sound, visual art, conversation and public trails.
The form changes from project to project.
The starting point is always attention.
Who we work with
This Place Speaks can work with:
- schools and colleges
- local authorities
- NHS and social prescribing partners
- parks and green space teams
- community organisations
- heritage organisations
- arts and culture partners
- wellbeing services
- funders and commissioners
We are particularly interested in projects that support connection, creativity, wellbeing, access to nature, community participation and a stronger relationship with place.
Listening In
Listening In projects invite people to slow down and notice.
Participants might walk, listen, record, photograph, write, draw or simply spend time paying attention to a place.
These projects are especially suited to:
- parks and green spaces
- walking and wheeling programmes
- wellbeing projects
- community connection
- sensory engagement
- accessible outdoor activity
- intergenerational work
Listening In creates space for people to reconnect with the world around them.
Speaking Out
Speaking Out projects help people respond to what they have noticed.
This might become poetry, stories, sound pieces, photography, exhibitions, printed books, digital trails, public sharing events or conversations.
These projects are especially suited to:
- schools
- heritage projects
- community storytelling
- creative writing
- arts and culture programmes
- place-based commissions
- public engagement
Speaking Out gives people space to find their voice and share something of themselves.
What we can create
Depending on the needs of the project, This Place Speaks can create:
- workshops
- creative walking sessions
- listening trails
- sound maps
- story trails
- school programmes
- community archives
- printed books
- audio pieces
- films and digital resources
- public sharing events
- bespoke creative commissions
Some projects last a single session.
Others grow over weeks or months.
Some leave behind a trail, a book, a recording, a map or an archive.
Some simply leave people noticing differently.
Our approach
We work carefully and collaboratively.
That means:
- listening before designing
- adapting to the needs of each group
- removing barriers where possible
- working at an appropriate pace
- respecting access needs
- building in safeguarding and risk assessment
- creating meaningful outputs where appropriate
- leaving something useful behind
We do not believe in parachuting projects into places.
We work with communities, not on them.
Safeguarding, access and care
This Place Speaks works with children, young people, adults and community groups.
Safeguarding, accessibility and wellbeing are considered from the beginning of every project.
We can provide relevant policies, risk assessments and project documents to partner organisations and commissioners where required.
Let’s begin with a conversation
If you are interested in developing a project with This Place Speaks, we would love to hear from you.
You do not need to arrive with a finished idea.
You might have a place, a group, a theme, a problem, a funding opportunity or simply a feeling that something could happen.
Every project begins somewhere.