Cheshire Archives: a story shared – 20,000 Women Zine Project

We welcome artists working in a range of forms – including print, sound, textiles, photography, collage, and digital media – who are passionate about storytelling, community engagement, and amplifying underrepresented voices.

Background information

Construction of the new Cheshire Archives centres in Chester and Crewe is well underway, and they are on track for opening in Autumn 2026.

As part of the activity plan, artist Cath Campbell, is leading a creative engagement programme, to connect a larger and more diverse audience with archives.

The Creative Engagement Programme:

The Creative Engagement Programme aims to uncover and celebrate historically underrepresented women’s stories from the archives. This will include temporary public artworks, educational resources and a large-scale engagement project, the 20,000 Women Zine Project, which aims to collect and preserve stories of 20,000 women and girls living in Cheshire today.

The Cheshire Archive: A story shared – 20,000 Women Zine Project

For the 20,000 Women Project, artists will work with community groups, schools, libraries, and local organisations across Cheshire to co-create zines. The resulting zines will become part of the Cheshire Archives, preserved and displayed in both new centres and forming a permanent living collection of women’s voices from 2026.

Artists Fee £3000

Artists will be paid a day rate of £300 (or equivalent half day fees)

The contract will include:

1 day induction and training

1 day preparation

7 days to include a mix of delivery of face to face workshops, training sessions, development of online or self-led resources

Up to £300 materials budget

Timeframe

w/c 24 November Artist Shortlisting

1-3 December Artist Interviews online

9 January Inception Meeting

January tbc Training session

Feb – Dec 2026 Workshop Delivery

For more information or access support, please contact: mailto:[email protected] – [email protected]