Projects celebrating local landmarks and coal mining heritage receive culture grants from Wakefield Council
Wakefield Council has announced the latest recipients of this year’s culture grants, as part of Our Year – Wakefield District 2024.
The funding is available for Wakefield creatives, cultural organisations and community groups to support innovative and high-quality creative and heritage projects throughout the district.
In the latest round of funding, grants have been awarded to projects that celebrate the district’s coal mining history - including a podcast series that looks at the ways in which coal mining influenced and continues to influence the culture of Wakefield, and a documentary about South Elmsall and South Kirkby's history of community solidarity around the 1984/5 Miners' Strikes.
There are also projects that showcase local landmarks and community spaces including workshops available to help create a mural display created in the Normanton Library garden, and a lime mortar workshop for volunteers to gain skills to assist in future heritage volunteer restoration of Waterton’s Wall.
Coun Michelle Collins, Wakefield Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport, said: “I am so pleased to announce Wakefield Council’s continued dedication to promoting the fantastic creativity found across our district through this funding.
“These projects support our communities to celebrate what is important to them and the impact they have on people’s wellbeing is extremely valuable.
“There’s a range of activities for people to enjoy and learn new skills.
“We're delighted to have so many community groups and creatives involved in Our Year 2024. There’s so much for everyone to get involved with and to celebrate our district.”
The culture grants have two main grant strands - Made in Wakefield for the creative sector, and Culture Everywhere for community groups.
Made in Wakefield grants offer support from £1,500 to £15,000 to support new creative work, and ambitious participatory projects, whilst Culture Everywhere grants support constituted community groups and charities, with up to £1,500 to run small arts and culture activities and events with their local communities.
These grants are intended to support residents across the district to have the opportunity to experience culture in their communities during Our Year – Wakefield District 2024.
Applications for Culture Grants 2024 are open, with monthly deadlines throughout the year for Culture Everywhere grants, and a deadline of June 10 for Made in Wakefield grants.
Interested applicants can visit www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureGrants to find out more.