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.
Stories
Meet the first-time applicant using heritage to build a stronger future
Projects
Connecting Manchester’s Hong Kong community
Traditional celebrations, games, crafts and food are bringing people closer to their Hong Kong heritage and one another.
Projects
Belfast’s newest exhibition exploring conflict and legacy
A new exhibition is sharing the prison experiences of Loyalist political prisoners at Long Kesh and their contributions to peacebuilding following release.
Projects
Celebrating Newham's music legacy
Sound Waves: Music in Newham is exploring 60 years of rich and diverse music heritage across the borough and introducing it to a new generation.
Projects
Telling the untold story of the care-experienced campaigning movement
The project will bring together documents, artefacts and stories of people who have experienced care and their activism to create the UK’s first national archive of its kind.
Stories
Growing a sustainable future through food heritage
Projects
How the Citizens’ Jury shaped the future of Birmingham Museums Trust
28 local people from many different walks of life shared what they want from their museums, and how these institutions can better serve local communities.
Projects
Celebrating women's football heritage in England
A community-led project documented and shared never-before-heard experiences of players, their families and fans from the 1970s to the present day.
Projects
Shining a light on the untold experiences of female footballers in England
This project celebrated the history of women's football and the achievements of players from the 1970s to the present day.
Projects
Bringing women’s legacy in Northern Ireland to life
Our funding supported the extraORDINARYwomen project at Linen Hall, Belfast, helping to preserve and celebrate the often-overlooked contributions of women in Northern Ireland’s history.
Projects
Building Next Generation Traditional Skills
Addressing a skills gap and building a strong supply chain of skilled craftspeople to repair and maintain heritage buildings is the aim of this four-year project.
Projects
Celebrating 850 years of the Eisteddfod
Prosiect 1176 is sharing the story of the first recorded Eisteddfod through performance, creativity and community participation.
News
Supporting Welsh heritage at The National Eisteddfod 2026
Projects
Llais yr Afon: Giving a Voice to the River Teifi
This project brought together communities across the Lower Teifi Valley to celebrate and protect the river's rich natural and cultural heritage.