Helping Welsh communities connect with their heritage

Earlier in 2023, The Open University in Wales received a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant for a heritage project, Wales REACH (Residents engaging in arts, culture and heritage). Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the project focuses on supporting people in five areas of Wales to use creative arts to explore connections with the history of their local community.  

• In Gwynedd, the OU in Wales, Adra housing, the National Slate Museum, Yr Orsaf and Gwynedd Archaeological Trust teamed up with residents in Penygroes, an ex-slate quarrying village. They discovered local Iron Age hillforts, visited the old quarry, created slate art and explored sustainable living through wild and community gardens.
• In rural Pembrokeshire, residents looked at lesser-known social history in St Davids, invasive coastal species and sustainability, and how to use ‘Cynefin’ and ‘our place’ to inspire creative writing and painting. This was an OU collaboration with ateb housing, Pembrokeshire Coastal Park authority and EcoDewi.  
• In the Butetown area of Cardiff, residents of Somali, Arabic and Yemeni heritage came together with the OU in Wales Taff housing, Amgueddfa Cymru and Butetown Community Centre. Through creative writing, art and old photos, and exploring the wildlife of the regenerated docklands, they remembered the Butetown docks and look at multiculturalism and identity.  
• Residents in Port Talbot joined the OU in Wales, Linc Cymru housing, Amgueddfa Cymru, and Sandfields Library to look at the hidden and ancient history of the area. They toured the local finds at Swansea Museum, planned a community garden and created art and prose connecting past and present local lives. 
• People with learning disabilities in Rhondda Cynon Taff and the Vale of Glamorgan explored the connections between local heritage and natural history through the visual arts. This was facilitated by Innovate Trust, First Choice Housing Association and St Fagans National Museum of History.  

Thanks to National Lottery players 

‘We’re grateful to have received this support from National Lottery players,’ said OU in Wales academic lead, senior lecturer Richard Marsden. ‘This project is all about bringing communities together through heritage and the creative arts, while at the same time learning more about how and why the past matters to people, and it’s been fantastic to hear people’s stories and see so many great ideas coming out of the development phase workshops.  

‘We’re excited to see what the next phase will bring as we support participants to explore, create, showcase and preserve the history and heritage of their own community.’ 

Next steps