People with learning disabilities do not have an archive in Portsmouth. Their heritage is at risk of being lost unless oral histories are preserved and recorded for future generations.

“We want to show people this is us… this is what we can do… this is what we want them to understand about what we have dealt with in our lives.” Emma,  IAC Member (Inclusive Arts Committee).

Since 2022, This New Ground’s Portsmouth hub has created new opportunities for underrepresented adults with learning disabilities to engage with high-quality cultural experiences, creative activities and place-based community projects. In 2023, it established the IAC in Portsmouth, made up of 12 learning-disabled ambassadors.

The Groundwork project is co-designed with the IAC, connecting members with their heritage, researching and preserving previously unheard institutional and community histories of people with learning disabilities in Portsmouth.

Groundwork has been made possible thanks to the support of Arts Council England, National Lottery Community Fund,  National Lottery Heritage Fund, Portsmouth City Council and Victorious Festival. Aspex Portsmouth and Crying Out Loud are delivery partners.

Groundwork and Crying Out Loud

Our Solent Programme Producer Lucy is part of the Groundwork’s steering committee and plays a key role in developing connections between professional artists and the IAC.

As a commissioning partner on a key strand of the project, we’re proud to support this step-change in representation and leadership in the arts. Through artist development, collaboration and connection to our wider programme, this project champions powerful creative voices and challenges perceptions of what learning-disabled art can be.

In March 2025, we were delighted to welcome Tilly Lee-Kronick from integrated circus company Head Over Wheels to Portsmouth. This first meeting with the Groundwork team marked the beginning of a creative partnership built on shared values of inclusion and co-creation. Together with members of the Inclusive Arts Committee, HOW are leading a week-long residency exploring storytelling through movement, circus and lived experience. The work developed through this collaboration will be shared as part of the Groundwork Festival in 2026, alongside open workshops designed to engage and inspire the wider learning-disabled community.

This collaboration is part of Head Over Wheels’ wider Arts Council England supported programme.