Key details
Date
- 1 May 2024
Author
- RCA
Read time
- 1 minute
The Royal College of Art (RCA) has received a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £99,980 for an exciting heritage project, 'Custom House, Our House’: Intergenerational Voices on the Impact of Community-led Regeneration’, in Newham, east London.
Key details
Date
- 1 May 2024
Author
- RCA
Read time
- 1 minute
Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the project will record intergenerational voices on the impact of community-led regeneration in Custom House, in collaboration with Custom House Bookshop and project partners Newham Heritage Service, Newham Libraries and Rosetta Arts.
As the first Heritage Lottery Fund project to have been funded via the RCA, the project will enable up to 12 volunteers who identify as coming from underrepresented groups in the heritage sector – including Black and Global Ethnic Majorities, youth, migrant, and working-class – to receive oral history training to record an interview from a community member who has lived experience of Custom House regeneration or expertise in community-led regeneration in the area. A Newham-based young photographer will be commissioned alongside established photographer Chris Dorley-Brown to create portraits of the oral history interviewees. Project outputs will be shared publicly with audiences in 2025 via a range of formats: a photography exhibition at Rosetta Arts; printed and digital publications; a touring exhibition across six Newham libraries; and a public engagement programme.
Production image from Jessie Brennan, Making Space project, a series of four public artworks for Royal Docks, commissioned by UP Projects, 2019, Photograph by Alastair Fyfe
RCA is committed to celebrating diversity, eliminating discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity to all. This project will afford: Newham Heritage Service to grow its collections to be more representative of Newham’s diverse heritage, supporting it to better represent and serve Newham’s communities; Rosetta Arts to reach new young audiences and engage them in heritage for the first time; and Newham Libraries to engage more and diverse local audiences in community heritage that involves participatory exhibition formats, engagement workshops and public ‘in-conversation’ events. An anticipated outcome of the project is that the intangible cultural heritage of Custom House will be widely disseminated, and residents will have a deeper knowledge of community-led regeneration before significant urban change.
More information
Project partners
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
As the largest dedicated funder of the UK’s heritage, The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033.
Over the next ten years, the Heritage Fund aims to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to bring about benefits for people, places and the natural environment.
The Heritage Fund helps protect, transform and share the things from the past that people care about, from popular museums and historic places, our natural environment and fragile species, to the languages and cultural traditions that celebrate who we are.
The Heritage Fund is passionate about heritage and committed to driving innovation and collaboration to make a positive difference to people’s lives today, while leaving a lasting legacy for future generations to enjoy.
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund www.heritagefund.org.uk.
About Custom House Bookshop
Custom House Bookshop is an inclusive, community bookshop formed by residents in the ward of Custom House, which is in the London Borough of Newham. This is a woman-led organisation whose two founders have over a century of lived experience in the community.
The four main areas of interest for the bookshop are literature, events and activities related to BAME, disabled, LGBT and Women's issues. Emphasis is placed on children and the promotion of health.
About Newham Heritage Service
Newham Heritage Service collects, preserves, and shares the story of the people, places and things that are important to the Borough of Newham’s heritage. Our collections span seven decades and contain thousands of unique items, including manuscripts, photographs, films, oral histories, objects, artwork, and much more.
About Newham Libraries
There are ten libraries across Newham, each offering a range of services and community activities as well as a fantastic selection of books and other reading material, of course.
Many of our libraries have a busy schedule of regular activities to suit all ages and tastes, from parent and toddler sessions, reading groups and chess to knitting, over 50s club and gentle exercise.
About Rosetta Arts
Rosetta Arts is proud to be a dynamic and diverse organisation, delivering exciting, innovative and creative courses, workshops and experiences for people in east London. We reach out to those who otherwise have little access to the rich and transformative benefits of the arts and education. At the heart of our programming, there is something for all ages and stages of a person’s creative learning and development. Working across gender, disability, age and income, we respond to poverty and inequality by acting as a catalyst for creative talent.