Azook Community Interest Company have today been awarded a grant of £225,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for their new project, ‘Re:collect‘.

Re:collect will bring together some of Cornwall’s finest audio-visual collections and put them online for the first time. The project will create over £750,000 worth of heritage community and education activities designed to directly benefit Cornish communities.

Azook Director, Tim Robins, explained how the idea came about when the company was seeking archive film to support their work with schools.

‘We were finding amazing archive collections and sharing all the film, audio and photographs that we could with Cornish schools. Realising that collection holders were keen to share the material with the wider public we came up with the idea of an online archive for audio-visual heritage’.

Richard Bellamy, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund South West, said:

“Much of our local heritage, especially people’s memories and stories, are at great risk of being lost and forgotten as time goes by. Projects like Re:collect are the perfect solution. Bringing together and digitising this collection of Cornish history will mean that there is a lasting record of the people and events that made the area what it is today. The array of community events and activities will ensure that everyone will have the chance to get involved and play a part in protecting their past for the future.”

Supporters of the project are delighted, particularly collection holders who are keen to share their archives with the public. Broadcaster Ted Gundry spoke of his pleasure at the news.

“Cornish heritage is second to none and our audio-visual collections are very important, with them we can hear the voices of real people and see the faces of characters who lived in our communities. I am delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has recognised the value of carrying out this work before it is too late and I look forward to sharing my collection with Cornish communities at home and overseas”.

Azook Director, Claire White acknowledged that lots of people had helped to secure the funding:

“The support of Azook volunteers, collection holders and other funders has been phenomenal. Cornwall Heritage Trust, FEAST, Cornwall Council and Cornwall Community Foundation, VisitCornwall and the Cornwall Development Company ERDF Convergence Business Investment for Growth Programme have all made generous financial contributions in order to lever this investment”.

Azook is seeking a commercial partner to help launch the project later this year. Claire White explained, “This three-year project provides real opportunities for a business that is passionate about Cornish cultural heritage to make a difference and benefit our communities”. If your business is interested in supporting this initiative, please contact Claire White on 0845 0509 429 or enquiries@azook.org.uk.