Finding 'a home' in the heritage sector
Antonia Canal, The National Lottery Heritage Fund Engagement Manager

It’s Black History Month, that time of year when we claim space to celebrate the heritage of our African and Caribbean communities. For me, it sparks reflection. I find myself looking back and forward.
I often return to considering my experience as a black person working in heritage. We are a sector that does not represent the communities we serve. For example, it was recently found only 5% of museum staff are of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds.
I got my first heritage sector job in 2013. I was part of the Strengthening Our Common Life (SOCL) traineeship, supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and run by London-based charity Cultural Co-operation.
"I was there to challenge under-representation and champion communities. This was not business as usual."
- Antonia
It was a 12-month, Living Wage-paid placement with heritage organisations across the UK. No experience in the sector was needed. Applications were targeted at young adults of BAME backgrounds and working-class roots. All appointments were made on merit.
I made up the programme’s second year, and found myself in a cohort of driven, talented individuals - all of diverse backgrounds, all ready to make a difference. Those 12 months were packed with learning, solidarity and occasional imposter-syndrome panics.
I was given a clear objective, agreed with my host organisation, to do things differently. I was there to challenge under-representation and champion communities. This was not business as usual.
Supporting each other
The work could be hard. I often felt isolated and ill-equipped. But, surrounded by my fellow trainees, I was able to thrive.
"It was openly acknowledged that we were working in predominantly white, middle-class spaces, and that this would be demanding."
A key part of the programme’s design was to bring trainees together and nurture a supportive group. It was openly acknowledged that we were working in predominantly white, middle-class spaces, and that this would be demanding. So we visited each other, we ran group sessions, we had each other’s backs.
I graduated the programme in 2014. Since then, SOCL has rebooted to the New Museum School, led by Culture&, and continues to drive change in developing diverse young professionals, ready to take the sector by storm.
A place to feel connected

But, for all of us, the programme has to eventually end. I kept the learning, stayed in touch with my cohort and even got another heritage job. But I missed the support, and when I joined The National Lottery Heritage Fund and stepped back into heritage, I knew I needed to somehow find that group of like-minded peers again. Enter Museum Detox.
A movement of change and a lifeline to many. Museum Detox is a DIY, volunteer-run network for people of colour working in heritage. Since its founding in 2014, it’s now 200+ members strong and a critical mass to be reckoned with. It’s been a home for me, a place to seek support, get advice and just feel connected.
Like the SOCL programme, like Black History Month, it’s a dedicated space, unapologetic in naming inequalities and making change.
Taking the lead
But, what does this all mean to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the work we do?
We have a new mandatory outcome for all projects, that a "wider range of people are involved in heritage". This is an essential tool for change. Now, our funding has to work harder and do more. It applies to visitors, volunteers and staff – we’re looking for meaningful engagement and representation across the board.
And for me, it’s representation that really matters here.
If we want the heritage sector to work differently, we need leadership from those with first-hand experiences of exclusion. It takes work, it takes investment, but the impact is magic. I can’t wait to see our projects take the lead.
Interested in running a project?
Find out more about what we fund, and read Milton Brown's top tips on applying.
Efallai y bydd gennych chi ddiddordeb hefyd mewn ...
Every voice matters - collecting black stories

Nasir Adam, Curator of Black History at National Museum Wales
Can you describe what you do?
My role is to be a link between the Museum of Wales and black communities across the country. I am working on increasing the number of black history-related objects and oral histories in the collection. I’m also revisiting the museum’s existing collection, and exploring opportunities to reinterpret objects through a decolonising lens.
Why do you think the role is important?
I believe it’s so important that we recognise the contribution and presence of diverse communities here in Wales. We need to address the historical amnesia that exists, and remind all communities, especially our young generations and future generations, that the black community has contributed to the heritage, culture, and economy of the Welsh nation .

We need to inspire and instil a sense of pride and community among young black people, and to help confront the problem of racial discrimination through greater understanding.
We can do this by making our black past accessible and meaningful to broader communities.
Do I think other institutions should have similar roles? Absolutely 100%. I also feel that it should be the responsibility of every curator to embrace diversity in their collection. That’s when we will see true representation.
How are you hoping to increase black history stories in the collection?
By collecting and recording oral histories from black communities across Wales, to make sure that everyone has their voice heard. I’m relying on my community intelligence, rather than going to community gatekeepers or the usual suspects.
Every voice matters.
This is why it’s so important to collaborate and develop true partnerships with grassroots communities and organisations.
How do you think the role of curator is or should be changing?

The role of a curator is definitely changing. In the past, as shown by Dr Bernadette Lynch’s report for the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Whose Cake is it Anyway? communities were passive beneficiaries, rather active partners in the way museums collect objects and stories.
When we involve and work with diverse communities to interpret the collection through a decolonising lens, that’s when we will see the role of curators and institution truly changing.
Twenty years after Stuart Hall's article Unsettling the Heritage, this resonates with me: "those who cannot see themselves reflected in the idea of the nation cannot properly ‘belong’”.
Do you think we still need Black History Month?
I truly feel that black history should be celebrated throughout the year, rather than having one month dedicated to black history, and then have 11 months of tense silences. Racism is real and never stops, so rather than having one month celebrating and creating awareness of black history, this should be done every day, every month, and every year.
Can you tell us about a particular object at the museum that really speaks to you?
I have only been in post for as few months, but I absolutely love every single story and object that I have collected.
What’s meaningful to me is seeing communities feel empowered and engaged, and for them to see their shared culture/identity represented at the museum. That’s one of the main reasons why I love my job as curator.
How should people share their stories with you?
Communities can contact me by via email: Nasir.Adam@museumwales.ac.uk and tel: 029 2057 3426.
Efallai y bydd gennych chi ddiddordeb hefyd mewn ...
After Windrush - telling stories of struggle and celebration

Why did you want to make this film?
I had the idea for about 25 years.
I'm an African-Caribbean British Yorkshireman. I was born here, raised here. I saw my mother and father go through racism, I went through it at school. Then when I came out of the military, I couldn’t even get a job, people were looking at me like I had three heads. I wanted to be respected – almost to be invisible but visible. And if I'm feeling this, how many others are feeling this?
I wanted the film to be a celebration of our journey, an acknowledgement of the struggle, and a closure and a motivation for the future.
What was the initial response from the community?
This is the back story. I'm 57, so of the first generation born here. The indigenous population didn’t want us here, there were lots of fears and phobias about people coming from the Caribbean. Back then, we were a very tight-knit community.
So when I asked people to come forward to offer their stories for the film, thinking about 25-30 would take part – my God that’s when I realised we still have those links. Around 85-100 people came forward.
Were there any surprises?
How much it inspired people. I never felt "inspired" to do it. I felt there was a need to do it.
The amount of people who said: "Wow, we’ve got to do more of this, we’ve got to share our heritage more"; that almost brought me to tears. So the Sikh communities of Huddersfield and beyond – they want to do their own film now, the Muslim communities, the Irish. The story of migration reaches everyone.
What would you say to anyone from a minority background who wants to do a similar project?
If your story hasn’t been told, tell it. It needs to be told, because it inspires others whose stories also haven’t been told, and it will inform, educate and entertain people in the right way about your culture.
Plan carefully. We were overwhelmed with the support, and financially you need to be ready for that.
Everything you think is your culture and "belongs" to you, be prepared to be surprised. When you have been marginalised as a minority group, you start to hold onto things that are precious to you – but I was shocked how many people had similar stories to me.
Do you have any practical tips in applying for National Lottery funding?
- Try to find somebody who understands the process before you start the journey, like a previous grantee.
- Be prepared to be disappointed – because it’s not guaranteed that you will get it.
- Be explicit about the outcomes of what your project is going to do, and the benefit it's going to have for your community and the wider community.
What have you learned from the experience?
I made sure we had a diverse team of volunteers – I’ve seen monocultural projects within the African-Caribbean community failing because they’re not taking on skills from other communities. I already loved the diverse nature of people, but this project really gave me a deeper understanding of what others have to navigate: class, gender, disability.
What do you think about Black History Month?
I think the positives far outweigh the negatives. Any month, week, day that raises the profile for people of African-Caribbean descent, past, present and aspirations for the future, has got to be good.
However I have an issue with the word "black". If it was African-Caribbean British History Month, you start looking at people more introspectively than just their colour.
Where can people see the film?
- 19 October: Heritage Quay, Huddersfield
- 23 October, 10am: Huddersfield Central Library
- 24 October: Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing
- Find out more on Facebook and the Kirklees Local TV website.
What's next for you?
We have more than 70 interviews that we haven't been able to use, I've got some big plans to share those stories and learnings.
Efallai y bydd gennych chi ddiddordeb hefyd mewn ...
A century of black British history

Pawlet Brookes, Serendipity CEO and Artistic Director
Page last updated: 6 July 2022
Archiving the Past, Reflecting the Future is a National Lottery Heritage Fund-supported initiative that seeks to redress the balance in the way that black British history is documented and shared.
It fills in the gaps where voices from the African and African Caribbean diaspora have been lost or forgotten, giving a unique black British perspective.
For Black History Month 2019, Archiving the Past, Reflecting the Future takes the form of an exhibition at the Vijay Patel Atrium, De Montfort University in Leicester.
Covering the last 110 years, each photograph in the exhibition has a QR code linking to more information online. We also commissioned a documentary short A very Brit(ish) Voice by film-maker Jaha Browne that captures the legacy of the African-Caribbean community in Leicester.
This is my playlist inspired by the exhibition:
And here are some of my favourite photos:





Eulogy - telling the stories of first generation Jamaicans

Susan Pitter, Eulogy Programme Director & Curator
I wanted my Dad’s funeral programme to be both functional and something that told his story for our family, especially his grand and great-grandchildren.
I knew his dear friend ‘Sunny Man’ my entire life. But it wasn’t until seeing Sunny’s funeral programme that I knew his real name was Daniel Warrenton Bloomfield, and saw photographs of him as a young man.
Funeral programme booklets are traditional among Jamaican and other Caribbean communities - and often very elaborate. They typically include a eulogy to be read aloud at the funeral and photographs capturing life milestones such as arrival in the UK, weddings, and other proud moments.

It hit me that if one programme tells a singular life story, a collection could tell the story of a generation.
With my friend and colleague, Eulogy Project Evaluator, Dawn Cameron, we worked closely with the Jamaica Society Leeds to identify partners and bid for funding on their behalf. This resulted in The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s enthusiastic support as well as Leeds Inspired and Windrush 2019 funding.
How we engaged the local community
Partnerships have also been key to the project’s success, from working with BBC Yorkshire and Radio Leeds, East Street Arts, Leeds Libraries and Museums & Galleries and West Yorkshire Archive Service to international support from the Jamaican High Commission (UK) and the National Library of Jamaica.
Families needed to trust us in handing over their precious mementoes. So as well as engaging a team of experts, our volunteers received training from Eulogy partners Leeds Museums & Galleries in handling archival materials.#

Our own track record and credibility, the Society’s endorsement and stamp of approval were also key to engaging the local community.
Using traditional communications – letters, briefings and phone calls – worked well for reaching the Society’s extensive network of older members and contacts. It also complemented both targeted and city-wide digital and print marketing.
A series of events in memoir writing, Jamaican funeral traditions and heritage for children have been a great way to get people on board and to boost interest in family histories. We also held collection events, which resulted in the keepsakes and ephemera for 76 Jamaicans being collected.
Then the work began to curate it all!
Not just a 'community project'

Throughout the project I wanted to make sure this generation that included my parents was represented with dignity. It felt important that this wasn’t seen as just a ‘community project’.
Designer Lee Goater delivered my vision and hopes for Eulogy with sensitivity and to the highest quality; Aimee Grundell produced exhibition panels for planned future touring; Paul Floyd Blake’s contemporary portraits of the descendants of first-generation Jamaicans are stunning and Zoe East’s editing has resulted in a short film, hugely popular with visitors to the exhibition.
From the onset I was clear that Eulogy, particularly the exhibition, should go beyond media narratives and visuals of the Windrush Generation as victims.
An incredible public response
I was confident that Eulogy would appeal to visitors on different levels - from lovers of great photography to history enthusiasts, those with family connections to international visitors.
So trailblazers, community stalwarts and RAF servicemen sit alongside stories of triumph and heartbreak, and imagery of ordinary young couples in love, families, people making a living.

Visitor response to the exhibition has been incredible. Leeds Libraries has said it is the most popular exhibition at Room 700 yet and they have extended it until 22 September. For me, that’s because these are human stories that everyone can relate to.
I’m looking forward to reflecting those stories online and the Eulogy book to be published in November which will feature the exhibition’s beautiful photography.
Never forget
Of all the projects I’ve worked on, Eulogy brings the biggest sense of responsibility. I have felt a duty to do justice to the lives and memories of my parents’ generation.
It is a privilege to be a part of helping to ensure that the contributions of Jamaicans to the Leeds we enjoy today will never be forgotten.
You can find out more about the exhibition on the Visit Leeds website.
Telling the story of your community
Do you want to tell the story of your local community? Visit our funding pages for more information.
Museums should be like public squares - for everyone to enjoy

Bobby Friction, BBC Asian Network presenter and DJ
I was seven years old and on a school trip the first time I entered a museum, and it changed my life forever.
Standing and screaming in a room that actually shook to recreate the different levels of Richter scale during an earthquake was an intellectual watershed moment for me.
Up until then, my life as a British Asian kid revolved around toys, school and casual racism from classmates. The “Earthquake Room” in a museum in London changed all of that. This unique experience viscerally taught me science and learning could be fun.
Passing on a love of learning
This summer my own twins turned seven and I decided to take them on their first trip to the Science Museum.
We left after many hours of joy and it felt obvious to me that in our tech-driven, experience-centred, Instagrammable culture, institutions like the Science Museum are more alive than ever.
But that day I sent a tweet about my experience which seems to have resonated with a lot of people.
Off to the Science Museum with my twins today. All of us VERY excited.
— Bobby Friction (@bobbyfriction) July 26, 2019
My generation didn't get to do this stuff when we were young because
a) Our migrant parents didn't know what the science museum was.
b) They worked till they dropped & didn't have time.
My kids are lucky.x
Cold eyes in the museum

My mum and dad, immigrants from India, would never have taken me to a museum. It's not that they were anti-intellectual. They were actually the opposite: showering me with books and inducements to study. They had a keen interest in my educational life as a kid.
They just didn’t get what museums had to offer. Museums seemed like fussy, musty places, inextricably tied to the establishment for them I think… The kind of places where people would go silent when you walked in and looked at you with cold eyes.
Believe me; growing up in the 70s and 80s here in the UK as people of colour those cold eyes were a daily experience.
Feeling out of place
There was also the added pressure of money in an immigrant household. Whether you had money or not, in a home like I grew up in all kinds of frivolous expenditure wasn't tolerated. That's true I think across the planet within immigrant communities. Museums always seemed like upper-class spaces to us growing up, with (true or not) upper-class price tags to match. I wouldn't be surprised if that's still the case for newer migrant families.
It was going to be up to me to explore these places on my own.
In my early teens, I spent a lot of time hanging around libraries and soaking up all the information I could. As I grew older, I decided I was to become a rock'n'roll intellectual, and I threw myself into all of London's museums. I did the old establishment museums, the classic-looking ones, and the modern ones with architecture to match.
At first I pretended to enjoy the experience, but after a while I couldn’t lie to myself anymore.
I found many of them boring and most of the time I just felt out of place and uncomfortable. Imagine that: trying to learn and expand your mind, but feeling you shouldn’t be there in the first place.
Making everyone feel welcome
I understand that many of those museums are now very different places from even 20 years ago. But more change is still needed, particularly in how the staff reflect who their visitors are, and who those visitors could become.
The glorious thing about the Science Museum is that my twins were talked to by what seemed like learned teacher types with a zest for what the kids wanted. They were equally good at speaking to me about interstellar space, thus keeping all of us happy.
It really felt like an intellectual British public square that we all owned and had a right to occupy. The staff responded to us as worthy British citizens who also had an ownership of the institution.
I will leave the arguments about content and curation to people more in the know than me, but I think that that feeling of everyone being welcome in our country’s museums is vital. It should be a welcome that is full on, warm, educational, cross-generational and open to every class and colour.
The Earthquake Room opened up a lifetime of learning for me, and I want my children – all children, of all nationalities and class backgrounds – to have that kind of experience.
How we are helping to open up heritage
At The National Lottery Heritage Fund, ensuring that a wider range of people will be involved in heritage is a mandatory outcome for any project we fund.
Get inspired with some of the projects we have funded so far.
Efallai y bydd gennych chi ddiddordeb hefyd mewn ...
Unmissable openings this autumn

Kresen Kernow, Cornwall, opened 7 September

From pirates to tin mining, Bronze Age trade routes to pasties, Cornwall’s distinctive history gives it a special significance for people around the world. Thanks to £11.7million of National Lottery funding, the Kresen Kernow archive centre has just opened in the former Redruth Brewery. It's a state-of-the-art new home for more than 1.5m records and artefacts, covering Cornish history from the earliest traces of human activity to today.
Find out more on the Kresen Kernow website.
Science Museum, London – Science City, opened 12 September, and Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries, opening 16 November

Nearly £10m from National Lottery players is behind a double bill of openings at The Science Museum.
Science City tells the story of how London grew into a global hub for trade, commerce and scientific enquiry between 1550 and 1800. Meanwhile Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries brings together 3,000 artefacts in an fascinating exploration of medicine and medical treatments spanning 500 years.
Explore more on the Science Museum website.
Engine Shed, Northampton, opening 14 September

At one time, steam trains on the Bedford to Northampton line pulled into The Engine Shed for a service. The 1870s building has had many further uses in its 150-year history, but it was gutted by an arson attack in 2000. After a National Lottery-funded restoration, the building now serves as the Students’ Union for University of Northampton’s Waterside Campus. Members of the public can also pull in for a drink and slice of cake.
Read more on The Engine Shed website.
Calderstones Mansion, Liverpool, opening 14 September

Liverpool's Calderstones Mansion House has been transformed into The International Centre for Shared Reading. Previously derelict, the mansion is now home to reading rooms, workshop and community spaces and a café. An outdoor Art Deco theatre has been returned to its original splendour. The Neolithic Calder Stones, dating from the time of Stonehenge, have undergone specialist conservation to set them ready for their next 5,000 years.
Read all about it on charity The Reader's website.
Pilgrims Gallery at Bassetlaw Museum, Retford, opening 19 September

2020 marks the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower, which carried the first English Puritans from Plymouth to the New World. This innovative new gallery tells the story of Mayflower Pilgrim and Plymouth Colony elder William Brewster, born in Scrooby, Bassetlaw. Explore ideas such as religious tolerance, freedom and migration alongside less well-known stories focusing on the experiences of women, children and the Wampanoag, the Native Americans living in Massachusetts when the Mayflower landed in 1620.
Find out more on the Pilgrim Roots website.
Women’s history mosaics, Newport, unveiled 20 September

Inspirational women who played an important role in Newport’s life and success are the subjects of six new mosaics on St Pauls Walk, Newport. The mosaics have been created by Newport artist Stephanie Roberts with support from local schoolchildren and community groups. The beautiful mosaics celebrate the achievements of Chartists, Suffragists and Suffragettes, Second World War factory workers, athletes, Newport’s first female mayor, Mary Hart, and contemporary women of Newport.
Read more on Newport City Council's website.
Cambridge Museum of Technology, Cambridge, opening 5 October

Delve into an often forgotten side of Cambridge. Housed in a former sewage pumping station, Cambridge Museum of Technology’s exhibits include working engines, telephone exchanges, printing presses and many more wonderful contraptions. New displays will open on 5 October, including two engines and exhibitions showcasing brickmaking, brewing, food production and the town gas works.
Find all you need to know on the museum website.
Aldeburgh Museum, Suffolk, opening October/November

The Moot Hall was built by the Burgesses of Aldeburgh over 450 years ago as a symbol of the seaside town’s burgeoning wealth and civic pride. Over the centuries this beautiful Tudor building has housed a court, jail, the Town Council (which continues to meet there), local traders and, more recently, a museum. Thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the museum has been redeveloped to better reveal the town’s intriguing history of seafaring heroes, dramatic coastal erosion, witches, wartime action, Anglo-Saxon ship burials, fishing, trade, world-famous artists, holiday makers and much more.
The museum's website has all the latest information.
Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen, opening 2 November

Aberdeen Art Gallery has undergone a major transformation thanks to £10m from The National Lottery. Art lovers of all ages will find much more space for artworks, a new exhibition gallery and a refurbished Cowdray Hall and Remembrance Hall. Visitor access and facilities have been dramatically improved – essential as the revitalised Gallery is expected to attract over 250,000 visits annually, making it one of Scotland’s most-visited galleries.
Why working with communities can be 'transformational' for museums

The queer times school prints exhibition was held at Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) from 1 December 2018 to 10 March 2019.
It was a big success, attracting more than 29,000 visitors over three months, and much of this was due to conversations held with the LGBT+ community before it even began.

Led by charity Glasgow Life for its Queer Times project, this dialogue has opened up a new way of improving representation in GoMA’s exhibitions and collection. We found out more.
After Dark and queer times school
The first part of the project took place during the After Dark and queer times school series of events, held in museums, libraries and archives across Glasgow in July and August 2018.
Speakers from a diversity of backgrounds and professions gave talks and led conversations on key LGBT+ issues in Scotland from 1967 (the year when homosexuality was partially decriminalised in England and Wales) to the present day.
These included:
- the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Scotland in 1980, 13 years after England and Wales
- opposition to Section 28 (Clause 2A in Scotland), the law which prohibited local authorities and schools from “promoting” homosexuality
- the AIDS epidemic
- the experiences of LGBT+ people in ethnic minority communities
- recent changes to the Scottish curriculum to include LGBT+ topics
Many speakers and participants had not been involved in a heritage project before and their perspectives shone new light on these histories.
queer times school prints exhibition
The outcomes of the queer times school events inspired GoMA's queer times school prints exhibition, which was commissioned by artist and queer times school participant, Jason E Bowman.
It centred on a commissioned set of prints from ten LGBT+ artists that responded to themes identified in the queer times school. These prints were later acquired by Glasgow Museums for its collection.
The exhibition also included a changing display of LGBT+ heritage items, a reading resource space, a wall painting and a programme of films – all developed by queer times school participants.
"Queer history must be documented and remembered, for it illuminates the struggles which still take place today for queers in their family, community and workplaces."
queer times school participant
It attracted 29,294 visitors, and a further 546 attended readings, tours, screenings, workshops and discussions.
Going forwards

Queer Times project manager Katie Bruce said: “It was wonderful to see how popular the exhibition was after everyone’s hard work and belief.
"The planning process has been transformational for GoMA; in how it acquires works, interprets collections and curates exhibitions.
"We’re keen to work with other communities in a similar way in future.”