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Cultures and memories

Cultures and memories

A group of people wearing Nigerian traditional clothes, celebrating the launch of Hibiscus Rising.
Hibiscus Rising, Leeds. © David Lindsay.
These are the customs and traditions, skills and knowledge, passed down to us through generations.

Since 1994 we have awarded £460million to more than 24,100 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
Participants exploring their heritage

Projects

Desh - Homeland

The project aims to bring together several generations of South Asians living in Bristol to identify and record their heritage. Desh means Motherland or Homeland in Hindi and Urdu.

The history wall with red poppies (for those who died) or a white butterfly (for those left behind)
The history wall with red poppies (for those who died) or a white butterfly (for those left behind)

Projects

Red Poppies and White Butterflies

Nostell Priory engaged the community with a compelling programme telling the stories of the men who died in the First World War and those that survived, with an invitation to research their own ancestry and add to a message wall.

Tinsley Manor field work with Clive Betts MP
Tinsley Manor field work with Clive Betts MP

Projects

Exploring Tinsley Manor

When it was discovered during local history lessons that a medieval manor house was buried under their classroom, the children of Tinsley Junior School took to archaeology with enthusiasm, some even taking old spoons to set up their own digs in their back gardens at home.

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.

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