Project Briefs

The history of the fenland region is governed by water and by the changes that water can make to landscapes and lives. The wet marshlands set challenges for early settlers, but intrepid pioneers established communities on islands and raised causeways, whereby they could exploit the riches of the marsh. Early Christian monks were attracted to the isolated islands for there remote spirituality and there they started to build great abbeys.

But a low-lying landscape is always at the mercy of the sea. The islands off the Lincolnshire coast, the last refuges of Doggerland, were lost to rising sea levels and once their protection was gone, many of the medieval settlements on the coast were inundated - Old Skegness now lies lost beneath the waves.

The modern period is marked by the drainage and exploitation of the former marshlands for agriculture. From the Dutch engineers of the 17th century to the modern drainage boards, the current landscape of dykes, banks and flat fields has been artificially created.

These project briefs invite collaboration on a growing body of work exploring environmental change in Lincolnshire and the Fens. Artists, musicians, writers and community partners are invited to respond, contribute and help shape new creative ways of telling this story.

Each offers a chance to bring your own medium, skill, or perspective to the story of a landscape in flux.