Head4Arts’ WWI Centenary project showcased at Westminster
On Wednesday 31st October, Head4Arts attended a House of Commons event hosted by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), celebrating the contribution made by communities across the UK to mark the First World War Centenary.
Head4Arts was one of 12 organisations invited to attend the event out of over 2000 of those who received Heritage Lottery Funding over the First World War commemoration period.
At the event, Head4Arts showcased the Who Do I Think I Was project which was delivered across the South East Wales valleys region in 2016. Working in partnership with Gwent and Glamorgan Archives, the project enabled community groups from all ages and backgrounds to encounter primary resource material that helped them to imagine what their lives might have been like during the First World War.
The event also provided an opportunity for Head4Arts to discuss plans for Exhibition in a Box, the final project in their series of activities linked to the First World War Centenary. Exhibition in a Box, an arts and heritage project that will explore the theme of silence, has recently received funding through the Heritage Lottery First World War: then and now fund. The project will be delivered across the boroughs of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil and Torfaen in early 2019.
Attended by the Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright MP, Head4Arts joined other National Lottery funded projects showcasing their First War Centenary projects.
Ros Kerslake, HLF’s CEO, said: “The First World War was a truly global conflict, stretching out across oceans and continents. But its impact at home was huge. Communities, families and society were forever changed by this war. National Lottery funding has empowered people to discover and share the thousands of stories of the First World War that matter to them. And the response from communities has been an inspiration.”
In 2012, HLF launched a community grants programme called First World War: then and now, offering grants are available between £3,000 to £10,000. Over the Centenary, HLF awarded more than £14million to community projects.
In addition, HLF awarded larger grants to First World War projects. Projects include Imperial War Museum’s First World War Galleries; HMS Caroline and the home of First World War soldier and poet Hedd Wyn. Total HLF funding in the First World War Centenary comes to almost £100million.
For more information on Who Do I Think I Was / Exhibition in a Box, visit www.head4arts.org.uk or follow @Head4Arts on Twitter and Facebook.
For further information on HLF’s funding for First World War Centenary projects visit: www.hlf.org.uk/about-us/news-features/OneCentenary or follow #OneCentenary100Stories on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
