Art & Culture
Newham Heritage Month to return in May 2021 with funding for heritage and cultural organisations and artists
As Newham Heritage Month returns for a second year, newly announced funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund is set to unlock the ambitions of local heritage heroes in Newham, allowing undiscovered stories from our brilliant borough to come to light.
Open to heritage and cultural organisations and artists, up to £5,000 of funding is available for individuals and £7,000 for groups. The news comes as the return of Newham Heritage Month in May 2021 is announced. The festival will take the fascinating theme of ‘Shops, Docks and Factories – Newham’s urban heritage’ embracing the rich history of industry, innovation and creativity in Newham.
The month of heritage and arts festivities will explore the businesses, places and people that make Newham an exciting, friendly and welcoming place to live, with artist-led heritage projects on topics ranging from dockers to youth clubs, activism to Arts and Crafts design, and the high street to Grime music. The vibrant programme will explore what it means to be a citizen in Newham today, living amongst the rich social history of the area.
Newham has been awarded a significant grant by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to deliver a month-long celebration of Newham’s heritage, running throughout May 2021. The programme is also supported by The Royal Docks Team. The National Lottery Heritage Fund grant will also support the development of a heritage offer that embraces and celebrates the diversity of Newham, London’s youngest borough.
Newham Heritage Month is a fantastic celebration of the borough’s rich history, and I’m delighted that it will be returning next year together with funding for the local creative community
Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, Justine Simons OBE
The month of heritage and arts and culture festivities will celebrate the heroes of industry, innovation and creativity at every level, from honouring our corner shops and family-run businesses, to paying tribute to the titanic factories and docks which formed Newham’s landscape in the last century.
From Idris Elba to Dame Vera Lynne to Xyng Bane, Newham has produced some of the most talented creatives in the world. For Newham Heritage Month 2021, projects will explore Newham’s creative industry with performances and exhibitions.
Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, Justine Simons OBE says: “Newham Heritage Month is a fantastic celebration of the borough’s rich history, and I’m delighted that it will be returning next year together with funding for the local creative community. Culture helps to bring our communities together and keep our history alive, and these funds will be a lifeline for organisations and artists that have been badly impacted by the pandemic.''
Councillor Charlene McLean, Deputy Mayor of Newham and lead member on Resident Engagement and Participation, Newham says “This year’s inaugural Newham Heritage Month was a huge success, and with the support of National Lottery Heritage Fund and The Royal Docks Team I’m sure next year’s event will go from strength to strength.
“This borough has a great history of industry, commerce and the arts, and at time when all these endeavours are under such threat from the Covid-19 crisis, it is a great time to take stock and recognise how each field has shaped our borough, and how important it is that we protect them in the future.”
Stuart McLeod, Director London and South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “We are very pleased to support Newham Heritage Month once again. Thanks to funding from National Lottery players, Newham’s rich heritage and diversity will be highlighted throughout the month with local people able to take part in the festivities.”
In another innovation for the second year of the programme, Newham is excited to invite participants of Newham Heritage Month to share their own projects and research, including photos, films and letters, recordings and memories with Newham’s Archives and Local Studies Library, as part of the borough’s ambition to ensure the archive is a living, representative repository for our public history.
The 2021 event builds on the success of the first official Newham Heritage Month this year, which saw thousands of local residents participate in virtual discussions, workshops and more, all of which were researched and run by Newham’s community, including a hit Newham-themed quiz delivered by TV star Bobby Seagull, and a much-lauded programme of heritage building events, like the unique behind-the-scenes tour of Newham’s historic House Mill.
The 2021 agenda will reveal more insights into Newham’s fascinating physical landscape, and may even include the opportunity to take a literal dip into local history, with the chance to look at some of the borough’s historic docks from the water. Local luminaries IROKO Theatre will return with fresh content, sharing their contemporary perspective on preserving performance heritage in the 21st century.
Newham Heritage Month 2020 took place thanks to generous funding from National Heritage Lottery Fund and The Royal Docks Team.
