The Festival of Ideas has been debating the future of the city, so we’ve taken a look at three National Lottery projects exploring the people and ideas from Bristol’s history which shaped the city of today.

Heritage, race and identity

Led by the Black South West Network and supported by a £73,000 National Lottery grant, the There IS Black in the Union Jack project has been examining the changing relationship between heritage, race and identity in among Bristol’s Black and Ethnic Minority communities. Their oral histories film was launched at The Festival of Ideas and featured in an interview in our Online Community.

Pride and LGBT+ stories

Thanks to a £10,000 National Lottery grant, Bristol24/7 is uncovering a century of untold stories from the city’s LGBT+ community. Personal experiences, treasured memories and a record of changing attitudes will be collected and shared through a film due to be screened at Bristol Pride 2018. The aim of Talking LGBT Bristol is to use digital as a tool to help others access and learn about Bristol’s LGBT+ heritage.

100 years of women's activism

Next year will mark 100 years since the Representation of the People Act 1918, which enabled some women to vote for the first time. With £60,000 National Lottery backing, Dreadnought South West’s Rebellious Sounds Archive project is taking an interactive listening booth, built like a voting booth on tour across the region.  It will share contemporary stories of women's activism with recordings from living memory to form a new community archive, looking back across 100 years of activism. 

National Lottery funding in Bristol

Since 1994, more than £76million of money raised by National Lottery players has been invested into projects celebrating, sharing and saving Bristol’s heritage. Share your favourite memories or sights in the city at @HLFSouthWest and join the conversation using #NationalLottery.