Applications welcome for £10,000 Windrush project grant in Sheffield

The money will be used to create a project using Sheffield City Archive’s collection of Black history artefacts and content.

The council said it was looking for ideas around a series of workshops or events which use arts-based engagement methods such as music, photography and poetry or a Windrush Celebration Event showcasing the artistic outputs from the workshops and historical materials gathered and stories from participants.

Councillor Abtisam Mohammed, executive member for equality, said the council was given a total of £15,000 funding for Remember Windrush projects. Of this, the Church Urban Fund allocated £10,000 for community partners (all of which she said was given to Black-led organisations) and £5,000 for archive services.

This archive funding was initially given to Ignite Imaginations but people argued that as a predominantly white organisation, other groups in the city would be better placed to deliver the project.

The backlash led Ignite to withdraw from the project and they issued a statement saying they “wholeheartedly support the view that stories about Black experience are best gathered, looked after and retold by people from those communities”.

Since then, the council said it will match the £5,000 archive grant to bring the total to £10,000.

Eligible groups for this include: unincorporated community groups; registered charities or charitable trusts; charitable incorporated organisations; community interest companies; industrial and provident societies, co-operative societies or community benefit societies; or any other form of charitable businesses with charitable aims that fulfil the public benefit test.

Expressions of interest will be assessed by a panel of independent community representatives and council staff. The criteria is: connection and reach to Black, African and Caribbean communities, ability to work with BAME community organisations, depth of knowledge of Windrush generation, Black history and archiving practices, ability to deliver the project by October 31st to budget and how success will be measured.

Expressions of interest (including breakdown of costs and clear outcomes to deliver within the timeframe) or questions should be sent to [email protected]. The deadline for applications is 5pm, Monday, August 23. Successful applicants can expect to hear by the end of August.