New Projects for History in the Making
Following an open callout in May 2024, we’re currently funding 21 fantastic new projects across the country. Projects include new murals in the Byker Wall estate in Newcastle, a podcast about a mosque in Newham and an AR trail exploring the queer histories of King’s Lynn. Find out more about these projects below.
East Midlands
Derby
50 years ago, Derby was twinned with Osnabrück to promote peace and engage young people in creating positive future. This project will work with new migrants and disadvantaged young people to explore themes of peace and togetherness in the face of contemporary conflict, fear and isolation. It will create a place marker at Artcore on Osnabrück Square.
Leicester
The New Parks council estate is one of Leicester’s most deprived communities and its history has largely gone unexplored. This much-needed project will celebrate community histories as chosen and researched by local young people. Their findings will create a local place marker co-produced and co-commissioned with the young people themselves.
West Midlands
Moorlands
LGBTQIA+ young people in the rural Staffordshire Moorlands are often very isolated. This project will bring them together to explore local queer history. The young people will work with an artist to co-create a place maker celebrating the stories they want to commemorate. This will be unveiled at the first Pride event in the area, co-produced by the young people.
Birmingham
For local migrants, Aston Hall serves as a connection point. Young people will explore the history of Aston Hall and Park in relation to local migrant communities. Through doing this, participants will be empowered to define histories that are relevant to them.
Staffordshire Moorlands
This project will work with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to build a sense of connection to the new land they find themselves in. Though exploring the heritage and historical significance of the Staffordshire Moors, this project seeks to develop a sense of belonging and connection to the area. The place marker will be led by the young people and created by a local artist.
North East
Gateshead
Young people are at the heart of leading an exploration of LGBTQIA+ history in Gateshead. After workshops and taster sessions focussing on history and a range of creative practices, the young people will design plaques that connect to the content and stories they’ve created.
Newcastle
Young people from the Byker estate will explore the origins of this ground-breaking development and consider how the past can inform the estate’s future. Their findings will create a new mural and shutter designs on community-run buildings at the heart of the estate.
Bradford *Part of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture*
In this project, young people will explore local Bangladeshi heritage. They’ll work with local artists and craftspeople to create place markers incorporating elements of Bangladeshi culture, art, language and traditions.
Young people with additional needs from across the Bradford district will explore the social history around the oldest cable tramway in Britain. Their findings will create a fully accessible, multi-sensory place marker to celebrate these histories.
This project focusses on the overlooked history of people with Learning Disabilities who worked in Bradford’s mills in the 1800s and 1900s. After historical research and creative exploration, Learning Disabled young people will help create a model of a mill and fill it with their own creative responses to the stories they’ve unearthed.
Shared Stories celebrates musical and cultural histories across the Bradford district. Young people will conduct interviews and research before creating their own musical and audio responses. These new works will be shared via QR codes around the local area.
North West
Rochdale
Canal to Garden will engage young people in Greater Manchester to uncover and celebrate the hidden history of local canals and flora through hands-on gardening, historical research, and creative expression. It will result in a heritage garden that tells the story of our local environment.
Rawtenstall
Whitaker Park and was once known for sound and music, but its bandstands are now silent. This project seeks to bring the music back. Young people will be paid to work with a curator to uncover these histories before creating sound-based responses. QR codes in the park will link to these new soundscapes.
St Helens
Young people will research and create a heritage trail of St Helens working with art historical partners. They’ll then use their findings to curate a mural and new interpretation on their building.
Stockport
Local young people will delve into the LGBTQIA+ history of Stockport. What this project ultimately creates is very much in the hands of the young people and yet to be decided, but they’re exploring creating a ‘queer map’ of the area or producing a mural.
East of England
King's Lynn
Young people will create an AR trail through King’s Lynn centre exploring the queer histories of the town. This will connect to a permanent artwork created in partnership with True’s Yard. What form this artwork takes will be in the hands of the young people.
Peterborough
Peterborough has been perceived as lacking a distinct identity and has been described as the ‘worst place to live’. This project seeks to create a deeper connection to local cultural history by creating an art trail across the town. Words and artwork will appear across the city to spark dialogue and celebrate the overlooked histories of underrepresented young people.
Great Yarmouth
Young people will explore historical experiences of mental health inspired by local museum and archive collections. Creative workshops will help young people to create a piece of public art inspired by their research and their own lived experience.
South East & London
St Leonards-on-sea
A truly diverse team of early career young creatives is at the heart of this project. They’ll be creating new panels for station platforms in St Leonards that respond to local history alongside zines and audio interpretation.
Newham, London
The young people at Masjid Ibrahim in Newham want to explore and document the history of their mosque and the people connected to it. They will interview community elders and create a series of podcasts and video reels. Young people will commemorate their work physically through a mural at the masjid, which will act as a portal to the digital content created.
Lewes
Young people on a council state on the edge of Lewes want to find out more about a historic building on their estate. Through interviewing older people on the estate, they’ll explore their own history before creating a film and a place marker on the estate celebrating their findings.
Contact us
For any queries about History in the Making or future rounds, please contact-
Email
[email protected]
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