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Cultures and memories

Cultures and memories

Two people are in a costume room and are looking down at a pattern on a cutting table. In the background are images of costumes, costumes on mannequins and rolls of fabric stacked on shelves
Credit: Carrie Davenport / Lyric Theatre.
These are the customs and traditions, skills and knowledge, passed down to us through generations.

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.

Explore our available funding
Burnley LGBT Heritage Project

Projects

Burnley LGBT Heritage Project

The Burnley LGBT Heritage Project focused on capturing the hidden histories of LGBT+ communities to explore the life stories, experiences and memories of people living in the area.

An example of the work by AWN Pugin

Projects

AWN Pugin Bi-Centenary Ramsgate

The AWN Pugin Bi-Centenary project celebrated one of the UK's most famous architects and helped him become better known to the people of East Kent.

Example of polari in action

Projects

Bona Eek - The Polari Project

The Bona Eek project focused on rediscovering and documenting the largely lost language of Polari, examining its origins and its influence in contemporary language and life in LGBT+ communities and beyond.

A participant exploring a stand at one of the workshops

Projects

Leicester's role in World War 1

Volunteers investigated the impact of the First World War on the people of Leicester and shared their research through exhibitions, school workshops and online.

Henshaws: One Man's Vision

Projects

Henshaws: One Man's Vision

When Thomas Henshaw died in 1810, he left a legacy of £20,000 in his will to establish an 'Asylum for the Indigent Blind' in Manchester.

People visiting a Children of the Croft pop-up exhibition

Projects

Children of The Croft

Volunteers researched the history of The Croft in Nottingham, a non-institutional home for lone mothers during the 1960s and 1970s.

If you query is regarding our application portal, please contact our support team.