Great Yarmouth, Harwich & Orford Ness – January 23, 2025 – A new community-led project is bringing the rich coastal heritage of East England to life through storytelling, art, and digital media. Funded by Historic England and led by the creative organisation Kinetika, Collecting Dreams, Shifting Futures is uniting diverse local communities in Great Yarmouth, Harwich, and Orford Ness to share their unique connections to the coast.
Uncovering the Stories of the Coastline
With a goal of gathering 150 stories and images, the project focuses on inclusivity, drawing from the experiences of people from all walks of life. Participants have explored their local heritage through walking tours, site visits, and creative workshops, ensuring that both individual and shared histories are preserved for future generations.
In Harwich, the Essex Book Festival team collaborated with filmmaker Marley Karazimba, writer TriggerBliss, and Essex Record Office sound archivist Kate O’Neill. Local groups involved included the Electric Palace Cinema Young Film Programmers, the Connect Without Limits Autism Group, African Families in the UK, and RAMA (Refugee, Asylum Seekers and Migrant Action).
At Orford Ness, a National Trust-protected coastal nature reserve, photographer and filmmaker Lucia Barbagallo and writer Emma Kittle-Pey worked with communities to collect stories inspired by the area’s unique environment and history.
Meanwhile, in Great Yarmouth, five community groups participated in workshops led by filmmaker Mark Hannant and author Belona Greenwood. These included Men’s Walk and Talk, a mental health group; Heritage for Wellbeing, a project run by the Restoration Trust; Stomping Ground, a youth club for ages 11-18; the Great Yarmouth Refugee Orientation Service; and the Herring House Homeless Support Charity.
Artistic Expression and the Beach of Dreams Festival
The stories, memories, and images gathered from the workshops will be transformed into creative works, including written pieces, photographs, and illustrations. These will be displayed in a series of digitally designed silk pennants as part of The Beach of Dreams Silks, a national art commission celebrating the British coastline.
These striking pennants will take centre stage during a series of free, family-friendly events and walks from May 28 to 30, 2025, across Harwich, Orford Ness, and Great Yarmouth. After the festival, the pennants will remain in the participating communities as lasting symbols of their identity and heritage.
A Celebration of the Past and Future
Tamsin Silvey, Cultural Programme Curator at Historic England, emphasized the significance of the project in the region:
“We are really pleased to have funded this project in the East of England, where coastal heritage plays an important part in the lives of local communities in three towns with very different histories. Through working with artists, people will have a chance to explore the heritage on their doorsteps, unearth hidden histories and celebrate what makes their towns so special. The project will also enable people to reflect on the future of their places as this coastline changes.”
As climate change and coastal erosion continue to shape the landscape, Collecting Dreams, Shifting Futures is more than a celebration of history—it’s an opportunity for communities to reimagine their future and preserve their stories for generations to come.
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