Cultures and memories
![Young people reading poetry around a microphone](/sites/default/files/styles/main_image_desktop/public/media/imgs/R2R%20on%20the%20road%20poetry%20copy.jpg.webp?itok=RJ-Eprwz)
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.
Projects
Yemeni Roots, Salford Lives
The Yemeni Roots project captured the story of the Yemeni community in Eccles through a variety of oral history interviews, reminiscence work and creative art.
Projects
Leicester LGBT Heritage Project
This three-year project recorded the oral histories of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland's LGBTQ+ communities, from before partial decriminalisation in 1967 to the present day.
Projects
In The Long Run: Thirty Years of the Great North Run
The famous half-marathon’s social history and cultural impact was documented for the first time in a major exhibition that marked the event’s 30th anniversary.
Projects
Celebrating Somali community roots in Liverpool
The Understanding and Celebrating our Roots project explored the historical links between Britain and Somaliland through capturing oral histories from Liverpool’s Somali community.
Projects
Unsung: Celebrating the Bicentenary, Social Actions and legacy of Edward Rushton
A city-wide project celebrated the extraordinary life of activist Edward Rushton as part of DaDaFest International 2014.
Projects
Connected Histories: Muslims in the First World War
The project explored and commemorated the significant contribution made by Muslim soldiers in the British Indian Army in the First World War.
Projects
No Game For Girls: A history of women's football in WW1
No game for girls explored how First World War munitionette football teams drew crowds of thousands before they were banned after the war by an anti-women’s football campaign.
Projects
St Clere's Co-operative Academy Trust explore the First World War
A cluster of primary schools and a secondary academy were involved in this project learning about the First World War.
![Children enjoying the Viking experience](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/projects/oh-13-08903_west_stow2sm.jpg.webp?itok=US-Pn9eN)
Projects
Exploring Britain's Viking Heritage with East Anglian Schools
Three hundred school children across East Anglia became Vikings for three days when they learnt about life during Viking times.
![Pupils of Onslow St Audreys School Group of school children](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/pressnews/school_group.jpg.webp?itok=3H6ot2Hf)
Projects
WWI - Near & Far
The WW1 Near and Far project involved nearly half of the Onslow St Audrey’s school in Welwyn Garden City learning about the First World War.
![Blinders to Burgers: Gang Culture in Birmingham: Lessons from History Young people exploring the heritage of Victorian gang culture](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/projects/blk_country_museum1.jpg.webp?itok=cIAc_0Zu)
Projects
Blinders to Burgers: Gang Culture in Birmingham: Lessons from History
Inspired by TV series Peaky Blinders, young people used drama to explore the heritage of gang culture from Victorian times to the modern day.
Projects
Being British: sharing the contribution of Birmingham's migrants
Young people researched the experiences and impact of Birmingham's migrants and discovered what it means to be British.