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
Cambodian Recollections
Cambodian people living in the UK shared their memories of their experiences under the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge regime in this oral history project.
Projects
Kimjang, Making and Sharing Kimchi
The practices of a UNESCO-recognised Korean tradition were recorded and preserved for the future and celebrated with the wider community.
![A group of six women standing side by side with raised tea cups in their hands](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/imgs/ymt-1200.jpg.webp?itok=Tha9tj8V)
Projects
You, Me and Tea
Exploring Northern Ireland’s association with tea, its trade links with India and China, and bringing diverse communities together.
Projects
The UK’s first centre dedicated to anti-apartheid heritage
This project will restore the former headquarters of the African National Congress at 28 Penton Street, London, creating a new centre to share the stories of South Africa's liberation.
![Two people holding a sign for a local community organisation standing outside a historic pub building](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/imgs/achub_tafarn_y_plu_copy.jpg.webp?itok=xIkDVdAS)
Projects
Saving a 200-year-old community pub on the Llŷn Peninsula
Our funding is helping the Menter y Plu Community Benefit Society plan how to save and re-develop a Grade II listed pub – Y Plu.
Projects
Exploring the life stories of South Asian women survivors of sexual violence
What will people say? was an oral history project led by Greater Manchester Rape Crisis (GMRC) in partnership with the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre and Education Trust.
Projects
Multi-generational project fosters sense of connectedness amongst Luton’s Bengali community
Bangladesh Youth League Luton aims to create greater understanding of Bangladeshi heritage and culture through creative activities, sharing heritage with the public and training project volunteers.
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Stories
Three projects that celebrate 75 years of the NHS
![A colourful banner commemorating the landing of the Empire Windrush, saying 'Docked here at Tilbury, June 22nd 1948'](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/imgs/windrushtilbury1_954.jpg.webp?itok=9e1fdsFe)
News
Six projects celebrating the legacy of the Windrush generation
![Children with pysanka egg display for Eurovision Children stand next to pysanka egg display for Eurovision celebrations](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/imgs/social-children_with_pysanka_eggs-dsc_5279-pete-carr.jpg.webp?itok=ZrQqEFkx)
News
Eurovision fever in full swing across Liverpool City Region
![Group of children hold books whilst looking at the camera](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/imgs/bradford_book_project_heritage_fund_the_leap.jpg.webp?itok=xCSQkIzd)
Stories
Bradford’s diverse community heritage celebrated and shared thanks to local knowledge
![Rickshaw being painted as part of the South Asia Gallery at Manchester Museum. Credit: Manchester Museum Person painting a rickshaw on display in the South Asia Gallery at Manchester Museum](/sites/default/files/styles/hlf_xlarge/public/media/imgs/Rickshaw%20being%20painted%20-%20South%20Asia%20Gallery.jpg.webp?itok=IieMYSEe)
News