We Are Portsmouth

We Are Portsmouth kicks off at Victoria Park Greenhouse on Wednesday 30 September, and it runs right through to Wednesday 25 November. It's a community arts project run by Mindset Maintenance, a local not-for-profit, and it's timed for the city's centenary year. The whole thing is funded by the Portsmouth City Council Portsmouth100 Grant, and they've brought in two other local CICs, Think Big Do Bigger and The Grateful Arts Club, to help run it.

The format is straightforward: each session is about making a single postcard. The brief is wide open — it can be a memory, a person, a place, or a hope for the future. There's no right or wrong way to do it, and you don't need to be an artist to get involved. Once the postcards are finished, they're displayed publicly, and together they build a people-led portrait of Portsmouth as the city marks its hundredth year. It's a slow-build project, so what you make in one session ends up as part of a larger collection.

Mindset Maintenance describes it as a way to support community wellbeing through creative expression, reflection and local pride. The centenary provides the occasion, but the actual work comes from the people who live here. If you've got a particular memory of the city or a specific place that means something to you, this is a chance to put it on paper and see it sit alongside everyone else's.

Practical details: the sessions are for over-18s, and the greenhouse is wheelchair accessible. They provide the refreshments and all the materials, so you just need to turn up. It runs from Wednesday 30 September to Wednesday 25 November 2026 at Victoria Park Greenhouse, Portsmouth.