Co-Producing Place Narratives

Empowering communities through a participatory storytelling urban photography project.

Led by the Welsh School of Architecture, this project engaged young people in Grangetown, Cardiff, to foster skills development, strengthen community connections, and encourage critical reflection on urban places through urban photography.

Through a participatory approach, including interactive workshops, guided photo walks, and group exhibitions, participants explored how urban places are made, unmade, and remade. The project fostered engagement with themes of place identity, urban transformation, cultural vibrancy, and collective memory.

Engagement through storytelling and photography

The project’s key outputs included:

• Two interactive workshops in collaboration with Grangetown Pavillion Youth Forum members
• A co-edited and co-curated photobook capturing diverse perspectives on place identity and urban transformation
• A visual essay that contributed to academic discourse on participatory storytelling methodologies
• Two curated exhibitions showcasing participants’ photographic work, one at Grange Pavilion and another at Bute Building, home to the Welsh School of Architecture. These exhibitions provided a platform for dialogue between young participants, Cardiff University students, academic staff, community members, and other interested bodies

Creating impact

The impact of the project extended well beyond its creative outputs to include:

• Skills development – participants gained storytelling and photography skills, equipping them with new tools for self-expression and critical reflection on their urban surroundings
• Community cohesion – by bringing together young people, university students, and the wider community, the project strengthened social connections and cross-generational dialogue
• Empowerment and agency – participants gained confidence to articulate their own narratives and perspectives, fostering a greater sense of belonging and influence over their local community

Looking ahead, the project team are exploring potential academic and policy impacts through citations, collaborative partnerships, and knowledge exchange activities.

Next steps

The team continue to maintain connections with community partners in Grangetown to assess how the project has influenced their continued engagement with storytelling, photography, and place-making initiatives and explore further co-developed community-driven research.

Contact

For more information about this project, contact: