Historic England launches £7.4m High Street cultural programme

Historic England has announced further details of a four-year, £7.4m cultural programme for England’s high streets.

The programme, part of the Government’s £95m High Street Heritage Action Zone initiative, launches with a podcast series and ebook, High Street Tales, featuring stories by eight writers.

Between now and 2024 there will be both digital and physical artworks across the 68 high streets included in the action zone.

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Works will include specially-commissioned films, a large-scale outdoor arts commission, ‘sound walks’ organised in partnership with the National Trust, and a three-year photography project documenting “the changing face of the nation’s high street”.

Ellen Harrison, Historic England’s Head of Creative Programmes and Campaigns, said the organisation “is taking a unique approach in combining cultural programming, community engagement and physical regeneration to transform high streets across England.”

She added: “The aim of the cultural programme is for artists to work with local people to help them rediscover and express the pride they have in the places they’re from.”