Stories We Tell is Breaking Barriers’ flagship place-based storytelling programme, transforming towns and neighbourhoods into immersive cultural experiences. Combining binaural audio, film, projection, archival material and community storytelling, each project invites audiences to explore a place through the voices of the people who know it best. Every experience is co-created with local residents, artists and community organisations, celebrating local identity, uncovering hidden histories and creating a lasting sense of pride in place.
Where we've been
Our work is shaped directly by residents through:
- Community conversations
- Story-gathering workshops
- Oral histories
- Archival research and contributions
- Local partnerships with schools, community organisations, artists and grassroots organisations
This collaborative process ensures the final experience feels personal, meaningful and true to the people it represents.
ROCHDALE
Stories We Tell: Rochdale
Returning home for Rochdale Town of Culture
Stories We Tell began right here in Rochdale in 2021, when Breaking Barriers worked with local residents to create an outdoor audio experience that transformed the streets into a living storybook. Through personal memories, everyday moments and powerful community voices, audiences explored Rochdale in a completely new way, guided by the people who call it home.
Five years after its first edition, we were proud to bring Stories We Tell back to Rochdale as part of the Greater Manchester Town of Culture programme.
This new version revisited the original question: What has changed, what has remained, and what stories still live in the walls of this town?
Rochdale’s streets became a tapestry of stories through immersive binaural sound, archival images and videos contributed by residents, window displays and projections.
Real stories shared by the people who shape this town every day.
Nelson
Stories We Tell: Nelson
Explorig Nelson in an entirely new way.
Stories We Tell: Nelson brought the streets, spaces and stories of Nelson to life through sound, film and community voice.
Delivered as part of This is Nelson, the project invited audiences to explore their town in an entirely new way. Moving through Nelson wearing headphones, audiences listened to the memories, life events and experiences of local people, brought to life across the walls and pavements of the places those people call home.
The project was rooted in community co-creation to truly reflect the life and experiences of people from Nelson.The Breaking Barriers team spent time in Nelson listening, gathering stories and working alongside residents, community organisations and local partners to ensure the final experience was authentically shaped by the people it represented.
The result was an experience that felt both deeply personal and widely shared — individual voices woven together into a portrait of a place that audiences thought they already knew, revealed anew.
Halifax
Stories We Tell: Halifax
Embarking on an immersive journey through the streets of Halifax.
Stories We Tell: Halifax brought the streets, spaces and stories of Halifax to life through sound, film and community voice.
Delivered as part of This Landscape Is Ours, a community-led social history project that gathered stories from the people that call Halifax their home, celebrating and shining a spotlight on the cherished, forgotten and remembered places that hold significance for Calderdale’s diverse people and communities.
This Landscape Is Ours was an immersive light and sound night walk created for and with the communities of Calderdale, developed by Breaking Barriers in partnership with IOU Creation Centre as part of the Culturedale Programme.
Over four February nights, audiences experienced Calderdale in an entirely new light. Wearing headphones, they embarked on an immersive journey through the streets of Halifax.
Volunteers
Volunteers were at the heart of our success!
We were delighted to welcome 35 new volunteers to support us in the delivery of Stories We Tell: Rochdale!
Volunteers were on hand to support attendees to experience the performance safely, answer questions, support with set up and collate wonderful feedback.
Many people choose to volunteer to meet new people, be part of creative experiences, give back to their community or develop skills in arts, events and cultural production. Others volunteer because they believe in the power of storytelling, want to support local talent, or simply love being part of something that celebrates the place they call home.
If you’d like to join our Breaking Barriers volunteer pool, please register below.
Talent Case Study
Stories We Tell Talent Case Studies.
