Making Our Mark
Celebrating Walsall’s unique heritage stories.
Discover and share your community’s heritage.
Making Our Mark celebrates the rich and diverse heritage of Walsall’s communities. Led by Creative Black Country and funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, this project gives local groups and organisations the opportunity to uncover and share their untold heritage stories. Whether it’s exploring cultural traditions, historical events, or community memories, we’re here to help you bring your stories to life!
Over the next three years the project will celebrate Walsall’s diverse communities and uncover their rich heritage, supporting local groups to share unique stories and contribute to Walsall’s cultural history.
What do we mean by Heritage?
Cultural traditions – exploring the history & identity of different communities through things like dance, theatre, food, clothing or language. This could be anything that’s passed down or brings people together.
Nature – protecting local wildlife and green spaces, or helping people feel more connected to the natural world around them.
Oral histories – collecting and sharing people’s stories, songs and memories to help others understand the past and how things have changed.
Commemorations and celebrations – marking important moments in time or telling the stories of people and places that matter to a community.
How you can get involved
There will be a number of opportunities to get involved with Making Our Mark. The first call out for community groups took place in May/June 2025 and is now closed, however there will be a second call-out later in 2025 for projects to start in 2026. There are commissioning opportunities (like the one below) and events taking place that will be announced throughout the project. If you have any questions, please drop an email to our Heritage Adviser: rayna@creativeblackcountry.co.uk
How community groups benefit from being involved
Our Heritage Adviser, Rayna, will be working closely with communities across Walsall who will get inspired and explore different experiences as part of a ‘Go and See’ programme. We are making small grants available to support initial activities that include visiting heritage sites, meeting heritage experts and participating in workshops.
As groups gain confidence they will be encouraged to lead their own heritage projects receiving further grants and training in project planning, fundraising, community engagement, digital skills and storytelling.
With this added skillset it is hoped that groups will feel ready to share their heritage stories on a larger scale encouraging sustainable practices and collaboration. Training will help them reach wider audiences through digital platforms and creative documentation.
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.
Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. Making Our Mark is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to support communities based in Walsall to celebrate their rich and diverse heritage.
