Heritage Crafts awarded £158k grant by The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Heritage Crafts has received a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £158k to capitalise on the heightened interest in traditional craftsmanship in the UK. Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the two-year project will increase the charity’s capacity to support craft skills as a vital part of the UK’s heritage.

With the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Heritage Crafts will invest in additional staff and freelance consultants to help it achieve long-term sustainability. This will include broadening and diversifying its funding and supporter base, mobilising a network of volunteers all around the country, and ensuring that equity and diversity remain at its core.

Heritage Crafts is the national charity for traditional heritage crafts in the UK. Working in partnership with government and key agencies, it provides a focus for craftspeople, groups, societies and guilds, as well as individuals who care about the loss of traditional crafts skills, and works towards a healthy and sustainable framework for the future.

This news comes on the back of the announcement from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport that the UK is to ratify the 2003 UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), something that – as a UNESCO-accredited NGO for ICH – Heritage Crafts has long advocated for.

The charity has also increased its direct support to practicing and aspiring heritage craftspeople in recent years, with 66 small grants awarded since 2019 through its Endangered Crafts Fund, and 22 training bursaries for new entrants and early-career practitioners distributed since 2021, with a further 24 on offer in 2024.

This project will help ensure that the organisation builds on these successes.

Daniel Carpenter, Executive Director of Heritage Crafts, said:

“We are thrilled to have received this support thanks to National Lottery players, which will allow us to make the most of the opportunities afforded by the UK’s growing appreciation for craft skills, and increase our support for under-represented and marginalised communities in the sector. With UK ratification of the UNESCO Convention, this is a key moment for the promotion of heritage crafts, and we are keen to make the most of it… for everyone.”