The Sainsbury Centre. © The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Art
A major Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant of £316,000 has been awarded to the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich, for a 3-year project working with rural schools and communities in Norfolk and Suffolk.
The project, Culture of the Countryside, will raise people’s awareness of their local heritage, generate pride in the region’s cultural roots, and encourage a greater awareness of the heritage of other cultures.
"This project will see a host of historical objects and images from rurally-based cultures across the globe touring through Norfolk and Suffolk, encouraging young people and community groups to delve into the stories, beliefs and meaning attached to them,” explained Robyn Llewellyn, Heritage Lottery Fund Manager in the East of England.
“It's a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved to think about how our local heritage relates to cultures and customs from around the world through the ages.”
The project will be centred on schools in the region and on their surrounding communities. It will use world art from the Sainsbury Collection as a starting point, to explore current environmental and heritage issues and to help to build community relationships. Young people will be encouraged to see their local heritage in new ways and the project will provide them with the skills to become community heritage advocates for the future.
“This will be an extensive outreach project making links between global and local communities,” said Veronica Sekules, Head of Education and Research, Sainsbury Centre.
”We will fill a van with world art objects and creative projects, training participants in observation and research skills and use our resources both to open up a wider world and intensify relationships with local heritage.”
