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Leeds Older People’s Forum (LOPF) has been awarded a grant of £103,817 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to help save and secure the heritage of Leeds for the future. The 2 year project started in August 2024.
About this project
People’s History of Leeds (PHoL) tells the story of the city through the voices of its citizens who have lived through it. The project uses the collection of Leeds Museums & Galleries as a conversation starter and gathers and shares the stories of older and younger people in the city.
PHoL uses new ways of working to identify, capture and share at-risk oral heritage with a more diverse audience – preserving these unique voices and life stories for future generations.
The project connects with older people from the diverse communities of Leeds to:
● Preserve stories that capture and illustrate the rich tapestry of people’s lives
● Support older people to feel connected, be heard and feel part of something big
● Enable older writers to develop their skills and help shape the project.
The project is coordinated by Mojo Creative, where Tom Bailey and Rob Pritchard have the skills and creativity to bring the project to life, as they did with Shine Magazine in partnership with LOPF.
Mojo Creative recruits and trains a team of older citizens to collect stories and experiences from people in diverse Leeds communities. These older volunteer writers also work with young volunteers from Leeds Museums and Galleries, all of whom have an interest in history and are members of The Preservative Party. Together, they adopt a ‘citizen journalist’ approach, seeking out and collecting previously untold tales within our communities and uncovering some of the remarkable voices of Leeds.
The project visits older people’s support groups, care homes, shopping centres, libraries and community settings across the city to showcase objects from Leeds Museums in order to inspire heritage conversations. These conversations are captured and recorded to be shared widely amongst the people of Leeds. In 2025 and 2026 there will be a range of pop-up exhibitions of stories that will travel all over the city, from busy high streets to community events, where the public will be invited to contribute their own stories.
The project will culminate in the production of two free booklets of stories that will be distributed across the city to share the heritage stories with all sections of the Leeds community.
Contact us!
If you’re interested in being a part of this project or would like to learn more, feel free to:
Email: tom@peopleshistoryofleeds.com
Phone: 07865 842666