Community Projects
We Are Portsmouth
We Are Portsmouth is a collaborative creative project celebrating the people, places and everyday moments that make the city feel like home.
Created by Mindset Maintenance, The Grateful Hearts Club and Think Big Do Bigger CIC, the project invites Portsmouth residents to explore what brings them joy about living in the city through accessible creative activities, reflection and gratitude.
Across three welcoming workshops at The Greenhouse in Victoria Park, participants will create artwork inspired by their experiences of Portsmouth. The finished pieces will come together to form a collective celebration of the city, shaped by the people who know and love it best. Because Portsmouth is more than landmarks and naval history. It is also the tiny, wonderfully specific things its residents notice every day. 💛
The sessions are free to attend, and no previous creative experience is needed.
Portsmouth WordSearch 100
Portsmouth WordSearch 100 is a citywide community art project inviting people to help create a portrait of Portsmouth through the words found in its streets.
We’re asking people who live, work, study in or visit the city to photograph one found word somewhere in Portsmouth. It might appear on a shop sign, mural, boat, building, street marking or somewhere completely unexpected.
One hundred photographs will be brought together to create a collective visual portrait of Portsmouth during its centenary year, capturing the places, voices and everyday details that make the city what it is.
To take part, photograph your word and tag or message Think Big Do Bigger CIC on Instagram. No photography or creative experience is needed. Just explore, notice and snap.
Words for Wellbeing
Words of Wellbeing is a gentle monthly Black Out Poetry series at St Faith’s Hub, offering a calm, creative space to slow down, reflect, and make meaning with words.
Using existing texts, you’ll black out what you don’t need and uncover poems that speak to how you’re feeling, thinking, or healing. There’s no pressure to share, no right or wrong way to create, and no writing experience needed.
A £2 donation helps cover refreshments and supports the upkeep of the hub, keeping this welcoming space open for the community ☕✨
Come as you are. Let the words do some of the heavy lifting.
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Mindful Art In The Park
Mindful Art in the Park is a co-designed community project in the Greenhouse at Victoria Park, made possible by the National Lottery Community Fund.
It’s all about bringing people together to slow down, connect, and get creative. The project will include a series of free, inclusive workshops in the park, a programme of outreach workshops for groups who may find it harder to take part, and a volunteer pathway to help people build skills and confidence along the way.
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Gosport, Let's Have a Brew!
Gosport, Let’s Have a Brew was a co-produced community heritage project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and delivered through the Gosport Heritage Generator programme administered by Hampshire Cultural Trust.
Through creative workshops, blackout poetry and shared conversations, the project invited local people to explore stories, memories and everyday experiences connected to tea, community and life in Gosport. Together, participants created a growing archive of poems, reflections and personal histories that celebrate the connections found in ordinary moments. ☕️
Click HERE to explore the project archive.
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Rewritten: Climate Community Creativity
Rewritten: Climate, Community, Creativity is a co-produced project in Gosport that explores what climate change means locally through creative outreach workshops and blackout poetry. By working with communities in the spaces they already use, the project brings new voices into the conversation and co-creates messages for a public exhibition. The project is funded by the Gosport Borough Council Community Fund.
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Parental Creative Wellness Workshops
Parental Wellbeing Creative Workshops are a series of sessions designed to support parents’ mental health and wellbeing through creativity and reflection. Delivered in partnership with Creatful, the workshops are being run with parents at Beacon View Primary School, giving them space to connect, express themselves, and recharge. The project is funded by the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Foundation (HIWCF).
In Our Words
The Black Out Poetry Project brought communities together across Portsmouth to explore words, heritage, and self-expression through blackout poetry. Delivered through open and outreach workshops, the project gave a platform to voices often left out of cultural conversations and culminated in a public exhibition and published book. The project was funded by Portsmouth Creates as part of In Our Words 25.
With Thanks to our Funders
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Take a closer look inside Hidden Light – The Art of Seeing.
This short flip-through video gives you a preview of the guided pages, reflective prompts, and blackout poetry spaces included in the journal. Explore the layout, the passages, and the creative structure designed to support mindful expression and personal reflection.
Order your copy on Amazon and begin exploring mindful creativity through blackout poetry.