Cultures and memories
Since 1994 we have awarded over £510million to more than 24,600 community and cultural heritage projects across the UK.
What do we support?
We fund projects which help to explore, save and celebrate the traditions, customs, skills and knowledge of different communities.
This cultural heritage is sometimes referred to as intangible or living heritage. This is because it is constantly changing and kept alive when practiced or performed.
We also fund projects which document and share people’s memories. This often involves capturing oral histories and ensuring they are accessible now and in the future.
Project ideas
Our funding could help people:
- research and share oral traditions, such as storytelling or local dialects
- train others in traditional skills and crafts, from dry stone walling and blacksmithing to basket weaving and textile making
- research the origins of culture, such as music, theatre or dance, and create performances influenced by past styles
- share the history and fun of celebrations, festivals or rituals with new audiences, from games and cooking to carnivals and fayres
- capture accounts of traditional knowledge or pass it on, such as woodland management or home remedies
- record the stories of ordinary people through oral histories, for example about growing up, migration or work
- retell people’s memories about a place or event, such as a long-stay hospital, the miners' strikes or the punk movement
How to get funding
If you have an idea for a project, we would love to hear from you.
Projects
Killyleagh Remembers: sharing local Catholic and Protestant stories of war
Catholic and Protestant communities were brought together in this project investigating the impact of the First World War on the local area.
Projects
Letters from the Front: Learning from the past
Narberth Museum is researching the letters of a Narberth soldier who shared his experiences on the frontline with friends and family back in Wales.
Projects
Commemorating the First World War's Indian Army troops in Lancashire
Young people from Brierfield and Nelson in Lancashire explored the role of their local community and the Indian Army in the First World War.
Projects
Newcastle Remembers
Community films and exhibitions uncovered a wartime story and reconnected local people with their museum
Projects
Interpreting Wilfred Owen's view of life in the trenches
Young people in Wythenshawe worked with their local community housing group to learn about Wilfred Owen, a First World War poet who posthumously won the Military Cross.
Projects
Walter Tull: first black Tottenham Hotspur player and First World War officer
This project focused on the life of Walter Tull, the first black player for Tottenham Hotspur FC and one of the first black soldiers to have served as an officer during the First World War.
Projects
Langley World War 1: Poetry film project
Residents of the Langley Estate in Manchester used stories and photographs of their ancestors as inspiration to create a collective poem and film.
Projects
Dub Plate to Dub Step
Young people researched 50 years of Caribbean music and culture in Bristol and shared their findings via radio, film and online.
Projects
Exploring Romani art and decorating a traditional wagon
Luton Cultural Services Trust and a youth group purchased and decorated a traditional Romani vardo (wagon) in an original folk art style.
Projects
Routes & Rhythm
The Routes and Rhythm project was created by a group of young people who wanted to know more about their cultural heritage through the history of music.
Projects
Lincoln War Stories
Inspired by the archives held at the Lincolnshire Museum of Life, young people explored Lincoln’s history to develop a radio play about life in the First World War.
Projects
Young curators in Birmingham discovered west African textiles
Students from Birmingham universities worked with Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to create an exhibition to showcase and explore the museum’s West African textile collections.