“Let’s Go Fly the Kite” is a National Heritage Lottery Fund project led by Together Culture, in partnership with the StoryLab Research Institute and the Cambridge Room.
This citizen science project explores the history of the Kite area in Cambridge and aims to create a roadmap for how its residents and visitors can build upon their heritage to shape its future.
The Kite refers to a central area in Cambridge, named for its kite-shaped boundaries. Originally developed in the 19th century to attract workers for the University, residents were excluded from using City Centre amenities. As a result, a unique culture of inclusion, ingenuity, and cooperation emerged. This spirit of progress led to the opening of England’s first municipal birth control clinic, the election of pioneering female leaders, and the rise of a nationally significant cooperative movement.
The project seeks to foster new citizen-led enterprises, beginning with the creation of a community archive and an interactive history platform, developed and delivered by StoryLab.
Through “Let’s Go Fly the Kite,” we are researching how interactive storytelling can activate personal, local, and community histories, encouraging skill development for creative and experience-based economies managed by community groups at the local level.
Team
- Heather Thomas, CEO and co-founder of Together Culture, Project Manager
- Dr Fabrizio Galeazzi, Lead Researcher, StoryLab (ARU)
- Dr Violeta Tsenova, Lead Researcher, StoryLab (ARU)
- Jemily Rime, Designer, Research Fellow, StoryLab (ARU)
- Professor Jeannette Baxter, Advisory Board, ARU
- Professor Gary Packham, Advisory Board, ARU
- Dr Ruchit Purohit, The Cambridge Room
- Dr Zhuozhang Li, The Cambridge Room
- Mike Levy, Historian
