National Lottery funding for UoB project

UoB secures National Lottery funding for new Heritage Project

By KATY LELLIOTT

The University of Bedfordshire has secured a grant worth a quarter of a million pounds to fund a thirty-month capacity-building and skills development project for the communities of Luton, Bedford and Central Bedfordshire.

The project will be funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and will launch this spring before running for approximately two and a half years.

It will expand upon previous TestBeds activities, which is the banner under which the Arts and Culture Projects team develop and deliver a range of projects which have the aim of supporting local cultural practitioners and organisations to develop and enhance their skills and partnerships.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund provides grants to fund projects that sustain and transform the UK’s heritage.

The Heritage Project will be split into two parts, starting with a Heritage Impact Accelerator programme, which will launch in April 2021.

This part of the project will provide support for Luton entrepreneurs and creatives, pushing them to discover what ‘heritage’ means to their community, therefore developing events and increasing community engagement.

The second part of the project is a Heritage Enterprise Hub, which will launch in summer 2021.

This will be a programme of needs-driven training sessions and events for people in Luton, Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and across wider Bedfordshire.

Arts & Culture Projects Manager, Emma Gill, played a huge part in the University’s successful application for the funding.

She said: “I am grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund which has supported the realisation of this project.

“COVID-19 has illustrated how vulnerable non-tangible and community heritage is if not supported.

“This is especially the case in Bedfordshire, including in Luton, where we have rich community heritage that is nationally and internationally applicable.

“But without local support and investment, stories will continue to be untold and practitioners will seek opportunities elsewhere.”

Emma also spoke about the plans for the two parts of the project and getting the local community involved.

She said: “As an infrastructural educational partner with specialisms of teaching, research and outreach in culture, heritage and community, I am passionate about the role the University of Bedfordshire can provide in delivering capacity-building programmes such as our Heritage Impact Accelerator and Heritage Enterprise Hub.

“Equally, local communities have knowledge and specialisms that we as an institution can learn from, and the local ecology as a whole can be enriched through transactional dialogue and partnership-working.

“I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and get started!”

During the project, the Heritage Project team will work closely with the University of Bedfordshire, including staff from the Faculty of Creative Arts, Technologies and Science and its School of Art & Design.

Amanda Egbe, Lecturer in Media Production, will assist and provide support to the Heritage Project team throughout the duration of the project.

She said: “What’s exciting about this project is that it will allow us to explore how we can diversify and take note of our heritage in a collaborative, inclusive and non-discriminative way.

“In areas such as Luton and Bedford, so much of the culture and creativity that has played an important part in the development of their communities has been overlooked, partly through lack of preservation and archiving but also because people haven’t acknowledged these artworks, happenings and moments as important – but they are.

“Through the University’s Heritage Project we will help participants exchange skills and develop approaches in identifying and preserving Bedfordshire’s diverse heritage, to make it accessible for future generations.”

Professor Alexis Weedon, UNESCO Chair and Director of the University’s Research Institute for Media, Art & Performance, also spoke about the opportunities that this project will bring for the University and the wider surrounding community.

She said: “This project is going to bring about multiple opportunities for the University to research the heritage around us and find out what is meaningful to locals and the wider community.

“This new project will enable us to get to know our cultural heritage anew in all its energising and empowering diversity.”

Since 1994, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded over £8bn to more than 44,000 projects across the UK.

They give funding aiming to demonstrate and highlight the critical role that heritage can play to help people, communities and places, with emphasis this year on helping them recover from the devastating impacts of COVID-19.

Anne Jenkins, the Area Director of National Lottery Heritage Fund Midlands and East, also spoke about the new partnership.

She said: “We’re really excited about this new partnership with the University of Bedfordshire.

“Thanks to National Lottery players, this project will enable more opportunities that connect people with Luton and Bedfordshire’s rich and vibrant heritage.

“As we begin to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, this project will contribute to bringing people back together over the coming months, inspiring pride in communities and boosting investment in the local economy.”

You can find out more information about UoB’s Heritage Project, and other cultural community activity, here: beds.ac.uk/arts-andculture-projects.