Teenagers from Slough and East London will team up to take over Cumberland Lodge this summer, for an arts project supported by a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £8,992.
The 24 young people, aged 14-16 and from diverse backgrounds, will work together at our former royal residence in Windsor Great Park to connect the threads of past and present, weaving stories from their communities into the narrative of history embedded in the Lodge.
We are partnering with youth charities Together As One in Slough, and Immediate Theatre in Hackney, who will be bringing young people they work with to take part in the project.
Across the two-day Youth Arts Takeover, they will use sound, words, photography, and textiles, working within our house and grounds to rethink what the space represents and what it can be used for. The material produced will stay in the Lodge, alongside our existing art collection, for visitors to see and think about.
The project aims to empower the teenagers to learn how heritage is made, and to reflect on the complicated history of grand houses. We hope they will develop skills to enable heritage to be better understood, both by the young people themselves and by guests at the Lodge.
Professor Melissa Butcher, Programme Director at Cumberland Lodge, said:
“We’re really pleased The National Lottery Heritage Fund has chosen to support our project. Through working with these young people, connecting to heritage from their own communities, we want to show how ‘ordinary’ stories are as important as the grand narratives of our history.”
The Heritage Fund grant, raised by National Lottery players, will go towards supporting the creative workshops and event facilitation.
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder for the UK’s heritage. Using money raised by National Lottery players we support projects that connect people and communities to heritage. Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.
