An exhibition of drawings and maps created by Nicola Crowson and Tina Bird Wallbridge Of The School of Architecture, Art & Design, University of Portsmouth.
Site Lines and Motifs is a public exhibition that invites visitors to explore the city of Portsmouth through a new lens—one shaped by memory, narrative, and place. For a limited time, the ground floor of Storehouse 9 in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard will be open to the public, transformed into an immersive space of drawings, maps, and projections that uncover the hidden stories of the city.
Created by Nicola Crowson and Tina Bird Wallbridge, this body of work reimagines Portsmouth as a storied landscape where personal memories and collective histories are spatialized through experimental cartography and architectural drawing. The exhibition challenges dominant narratives of the city’s defensive naval past by highlighting its overlooked, feminine, and everyday spaces.
Suspended fabric panels and narrative projections form the heart of the installation, inviting visitors to move through a visual and spatial journey.
Emerging from the research project Atlas of Island Cities, this exhibition is not only an artistic exploration but a call to consider how we understand and shape the future of our urban environments. It offers a unique chance to see Storehouse 9 in a new light and to reflect on how spatial storytelling can deepen our connection to place.
Access to the site is free with a Historic Quarter Pass or your Ultimate Explorer ticket, just ask at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Visitor Centre.
Timings & Tours
Sunday 14 September: 11am - 4pm
Monday 15 September: 11am - 1pm
Thursday 18 September: 11am - 4pm
Friday 19 September: 11am - 4pm
Saturday 20 September: 11am - 4pm
Location & directions
Directions: Storehouse 9 - enter Portsmouth Historic Dockyard through the visitor entrance at Victory Gate off Queen Street. Free entry with a Historic Quarter Pass or your Ultimate Explorer ticket, just ask at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Visitor Centre
Accessibility Details
Storehouse 9 is within the Historic Dockyard where the site is uneven. There is ramp access to the doors of Storehouse 9 but due to the heritage nature of the building the floors are not level.
Booking information
Pre-booking requirement: Pre-booking not required.