Fenland Lives & Land

Fenland Lives and Land is a three-year collaborative project celebrating the heritage, landscape and identity of this unique and important region. Led by Norfolk Museums Service, this Heritage Lottery Funded project has seen four exhibitions and a film co-produced by the museums of the Fens Museum Partnership and a wide variety of community groups from across the region, from craft guilds to youth groups. These exhibitions, which are on tour now, explore the changing relationship between Fenland people (both past and present) and the unique and vulnerable landscape that has shaped their lives.

Key aims of the project

• Greater understanding about the Fens’ past and its relevance to today.
• Increased levels of engagement between museums and communities.
• Greater social cohesion.
• An improved sense of identity and pride for Fenland people.
• Skill sharing amongst organisations, thereby facilitating a more sustainable model of museum development.
• Greater use of museum collections by the communities whose stories they tell (an inclusive approach to interpretation).