Success for heritage projects in the National Lottery Awards
Punk: Rage & Revolution has been named England Project of the Year in 2023’s National Lottery Awards.
The exhibition tells the story of Britain’s iconic Punk scene with input from over 50 people who were part of the local and national movement in the late 1970s. More than 250 young people from across Leicester engaged with the project, sharing their thoughts and experiences and creating art, music, dance and sustainable fashion to be displayed alongside nostalgic items in the exhibition.
The project received £159,000 from us in January 2022. It was co-curated and co-designed by young people from Soft Touch Arts in partnership with Arch Creative and independent curator Shaun Knapp.
Sally Norman, Co-Director at Soft Touch Arts, said: “We’re amazed and thrilled that we’ve won this award. I’d like to say a massive thank you to all the people that voted for us.
“Winning the English Project of the Year is a great reflection of all the hard work that everyone has put into the project, particularly the incredible young people who have shown so much enthusiasm for what we’re doing.”
Celebrating heritage that’s making a difference
Punk: Rage & Revolution joins fellow Heritage Fund-supported winners, Bangor Court House, Project SIARC, Friends of Hartwood Paupers Cemetery, Danny Renton and Esther Fox.
Project of the Year
Bangor Court House in the heart of Bangor, Co Down, is leading a cultural renaissance and helping rebuild a community with its programme of creative events.
After seven transformative years, the Court House is up and running as an independent performance venue. Alongside showcasing international artists, it nurtures young and emerging local talent and provides a home for the Open House community choir. The project was awarded £977,900 from us in 2018.
Alison Gordon, Co-Founder of Open House Festival who are behind the project, said: “To win The National Lottery Project of the Year Award by public vote is phenomenal. It’s not just our project, it’s Bangor’s project."
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Wales Project of the Year
Project SIARC (Sharks Inspiring Action and Research with Communities) worked with fishers, communities, schools, researchers and scientists across Wales and the UK to fill in critical data gaps for six rare species of shark, skate and ray. More than 3,000 members of the public and 600 schoolchildren have engaged with the project’s work to date.
ZSL’s Joanna Barker, Project SIARC Lead, said: “To win this National Lottery Award shows the importance of incorporating local community knowledge and voices into marine conservation in Wales…It’s fantastic recognition for everyone who has committed their time and effort to help safeguard these species and raise awareness of a vital part of Wales’s natural heritage.”
Scotland Project of the Year
Volunteers from the Friends of Hartwood Paupers Cemetery have rejuvenated the burial ground and spent over three years matching names with grave plots. The local community group is remembering 1,255 once forgotten pauper patients and staff from the Hartwood Asylum buried between 1895 and 1952.
Loraine Duncan, Founder of the group, said: "The volunteers have put so much hard work into remembering the lost souls of Hartwood Asylum and it’s wonderful to have this recognition."
Environment Project of the Year
Danny won the environment project of the year award for his charity, Seawilding, which received £216,400 from us in 2020. The project is working to restore lost biodiversity, create green jobs and improve marine science and conservation education in Scotland.
He said: “Thank you so much for the confidence you had in us to give us the funding, to enable us to do what we've done. I think you've inspired lots of other projects like this.”
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Heritage Project of the Year
Esther won the heritage project of the year for her work on the Curating for Change, which creates career opportunities for D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people in the museum sector. The project received £1.06m from us in 2020.
She said: “This isn’t just a win for me, this is a win for all of us that are trying to champion what disabled people can offer.”
More inspirational people and projects
The National Lottery Awards celebrate the inspirational people and projects who do extraordinary things with money raised by National Lottery players.
Since 1994, more than £47billion from ticket sales has gone towards good causes. We have distributed £8.2bn of this to more than 46,000 projects across the UK.
Find out who else has won a National Lottery Award or explore more of the inspirational projects we’ve supported over the years.
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