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Beyond borders: sharing stories of Peterborough

A group of people sat together listening to a female speaker, at a workshop event in Peterborough.
From the Beyond Borders workshop.
Photo credit: Hana Sayeed

On 12 November 2024, at a moment of change for the city, over 40 Peterborough residents came together to share stories, make art, and reflect on what the city means to them. Held at Chauffeurs Cottage, a local venue managed by city arts organisations that were about to be evicted, and funded by the national Being Human Festival, the evening was a celebration of place, memory, humour and resilience.

Participants took part in a shared meal, followed by workshops in painting and poetry led by Fasiha Ashiq and Keely Mills. The evening ended with an open discussion about the power of stories and the future of the city.

We called the event “Beyond Borders” because that’s part of Peterborough’s charm – it doesn’t stand still. Yet its reputation, according to the tabloids, is “the worst place to live in England”. We wanted to challenge that, and bring together voices from the community to set out what Peterborough really is about. It’s a well-loved city in motion, home to people from across the UK and around the world, a city of big skies, welcoming communities and beautiful green spaces.

The result was a community-made zine of anonymous reflections, artwork and poetry – a love letter to Peterborough in three themes: Nature, Love, and Home.

a colourful illustration of people sat together listening, with various landmarks in the background. This was the poster image of the event.
The poster image for the event

Explore the zine

In Your Hands (PDF, 38.04mb) - View the poetry and artwork booklet.
Created by participants and designed by Amanda Rigby of Paper Rhino, this booklet captures local voices in their own words and images — funny, fierce, lyrical and moving.

* If you experience any accessibility issues with this document, please contact Dan Taylor.

What participants said

“Heartwarming and much needed at the moment.”
“A valuable, informative, encouraging evening.”
“Amazing – such an inspiring evening!”
“Helped me learn more about my fellow Peterborians and reminded me of my city.”  

This event was part of the Place, Community and Connection in the Fens research project, led by Dr Dan Taylor at The Open University. Our thanks go to Ruth Campbell-Ekins of Metal Peterborough, Hana Sayeed, Fasiha Ashiq, Keely Mills and all the participants who made the evening what it was.