Investing in heritage of diverse ethnic communities

Investing in heritage of diverse ethnic communities

a group of people with black and white skin stand around a book of records in an archive
Dig Where You Stand, North Yorkshire. Photo: Alicia Barrett.
Heritage belongs to us all – which is why we want to help tell everyone's stories.

At The National Lottery Heritage Fund, we support all sorts of projects which explore and celebrate the heritage of diverse ethnic communities.

We want to support all communities to explore and share their heritage, enriching people’s lives and increasing the diversity of heritage workforces, leadership and audiences. That's why under our Heritage 2033 investment principles inclusion, access and participation must be part of every project we fund.

The terms we use

Some of the terms we use include:

  • diverse ethnic communities, or ethnically diverse communities. In Scotland we use MECC (minority ethnic and cultural community). We have revised our usage of the term BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic).
  • LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other identities)
  • Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. This describes a range of ethnic groups or people with nomadic ways of life who are not from a specific ethnicity.

We use these terms because we believe they are widely understood. Identities can be complex and intersectional, and we are also aware that for many these terms may feel inadequate or limiting. We keep the language we use constantly under review.

Get inspiration for your project

Explore the projects below and find out more about applying for our funding.

An Asian brass band, with musicians and dancers dressed in colourful clothes, walking down a path in front of a stately home
An Indian brass band was part of the celebrations at Wentworth Woodhouse's outdoor family event, WE Wonder, in 2023.

Stories

Turning a stately home into a ‘house of opportunity’

How one project has successfully engaged its community with their local heritage and created benefits beyond just visiting.
Two people of Chinese heritage play a drum in a procession, while people in the background hold placards with photos of Chinese relatives
Ancestral Futures by Eelyn Lee and collaborators, commissioned by Dig Where You Stand. Photo: Anh Do.

Stories

How artists can uncover hidden histories and fill gaps in the archives

South Yorkshire project Dig Where You Stand invited creatives to explore the often overlooked and poorly documented evidence of people from diverse ethnic communities across the area's history.

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