crafting our creative northstowe

Mapping Northstowe’s Creative Life – And Imagining Its Future

Creativity is all around us. It’s in the songs we hum, the art we make, the outfits we sew, and even in the way we arrange our living rooms. It’s in the joy of a festival, the rhythm of a dance, or the quiet moment when a sculpture catches your eye and makes you smile.

At Northstowe Arts, we believe creativity isn’t just about “the arts” in a formal sense, it’s about self-expression, connection, and shaping the identity of our town. That’s why we’re launching an exciting new project to map Northstowe’s creative life and explore where the story goes next.

Why are we doing this?

Northstowe is still a growing community, and creativity plays a key role in shaping how it develops. But creativity isn’t always easy to define or measure. We know it’s happening, we see it in the music groups, the local artists, the craft workshops, and the street art that brightens our spaces, but we want to document it, celebrate it, and learn from it.

We’re working alongside researchers from the University of Cambridge to explore the impact of creativity in our community and understand what it means to the people who live here. By capturing real stories and experiences, we can:

🧠 Highlight the benefits – Creativity boosts our mental and physical wellbeing, whether we’re actively making something or just enjoying it.

🤝 Strengthen our community – Shared creative experiences bring people together, fostering friendships and connections.

🏡 Shape Northstowe’s future – Creative spaces and events turn a town into a place that feels like home.

This isn’t just about what Northstowe Arts is doing, it’s about what all of us are creating, every day.

How will we do it?

We want to hear from as many people as possible, including those who don’t see themselves as creative (spoiler: you probably are!). So instead of just sending out a survey, we’re making this a collaborative, hands-on process with multiple ways to take part:

• Workshops – Short, engaging sessions where people can share their experiences and ideas.

• Drop-in sessions – Informal chats where you can tell us about the creative moments that matter to you.

• Online participation – Add places in Northstowe that are important to you

To make this process fun and engaging, we’re also teaming up with an artist (Chloe Leaper) and a writer (Matthew Wood) to bring creative storytelling into the mix.

What happens next?

This is just the beginning. The insights we gather will be shared at Northstowe’s Midsummer Festival, where we’ll bring our findings to life in creative ways. But more importantly, we hope this becomes an ongoing conversation, one that sparks new ideas, strengthens our creative networks, and helps shape how Northstowe continues to grow.

This project is a collaboration between Northstowe Arts, The Cambridge Room, and the University of Cambridge. We're grateful for funding from the University of Cambridge for making it possible!