NCW works with and for communities to develop and encourage a creative relationship with books, words and ideas. We believe that a life lived with words leads to greater confidence, better mental wellbeing, enhanced connection and a more involved sense of community.
Community and people are a huge part of Dragon Hall’s story – from the medieval merchant traders to the Victorian slum dwellers, to our many and varied visitors and participants today. It’s imperative that National Centre for Writing is a welcoming space where people can meet and engage in creative activity that is relevant and meaningful to their lives. We aim to do that by creating opportunities to hear and share each other’s stories, of those who lived in Dragon Hall throughout its history, and from those who will walk through its doors today and tomorrow.
Learning and participation are core to NCW’s work and nurturing a connection between writing and participants from a range of backgrounds and lived experiences is central to our mission.
Our Approach
We work closely with and for our local communities to build engaging, creative programmes, with storytelling and story-making at their heart. Priority groups are children, young people and families, older people, and refugee, asylum seekers and migrant communities.
Operating from Dragon Hall, settings across the city and via online, we deliver a range of programmes devised in collaboration with participants, with their priorities at the forefront.
Sometimes these activities are aimed at a specific group across several weeks (A Life Written). Sometimes they include drop-in activities and serve a broader community (Stories from the Quarter, collaborations with New Routes, and Stepping Into Dragon Hall).
Whatever the format and whoever the participants, these activities always celebrate and explore writing as a vehicle for wellbeing, enjoyment, connection, confidence-building, and pleasure.
NCW has been awarded Place of Sanctuary status in recognition of its dedication to supporting individuals fleeing violence and persecution. This prestigious designation underscores our commitment to creating a safe, inclusive, and creative space for all members of the community.
Recent Programmes
A Tapestry of Tales
Who lived at Dragon Hall? What have these old walls witnessed? Whose story hasn’t yet been told? These are the questions that formed the foundation of a project undertaken by the Story Makers, a group of a participants that generously gave their time and skills to discover, share and celebrate Dragon Hall’s heritage.
A Life Written
This programme for writers aged 70+ years uses memoir and life writing to build confidence and foster connection in older writers. Delivered in partnership with Anglia Ruskin University, each cohort publishes an anthology and hosts a showcase of their work for friends and family.
A Place of Sanctuary
We work together with numerous partners who support refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to design writing and storytelling workshops, alongside drop-in activities for children, young people, and families. These promote cross-cultural integration and awareness, to introduce participants to each other, and provide a platform for individuals build confidence and skills using stories and language.
Stories from the Quarter
Stories from the Quarter explores our city’s medieval quarter and the stories of its local residents. Using existing and new collections of oral histories as a starting point, school children and residents from Norfolk’s thriving Bengali and Sylheti-speaking communities are taken on a journey of discovery and intrigue into the vibrant and diverse communities that have lived and worked on King St, Magdalen St and surrounding areas.
Children, Young People & Communities Fund
You will help people of all ages discover and share their stories through workshops, outreach in schools, and more.
Our Learning & Participation work is supported by a range of supporters through grants and donations, which we are incredibly grateful for. This has included specific community projects as part of Stepping into Dragon Hall and ‘Stories Uncovered‘, supported by National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players.
Our work with Older People and Refugee & Asylum Seekers is currently supported by the D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, Home Instead Charities (Reg 1156700), Garfield Weston Foundation, and Norfolk Community Foundation through the Connecting Older People Fund.
Past supporters include Anglia Ruskin University, East of England Coop Community Cares Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation, The Linbury Trust and Simon Gibson Charitable Trust.
With thanks to Age UK Norwich.
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