Reverberate 2026

RE-DISCOVER | RE-IMAGINE | RE-CREATE

Reverberate supports grassroots organisations to run small, locally-based projects that enable and empower young people to re-discover, re-imagine and re-create heritage through creativity, and share that vision with their communities.

This is the 5th time we have invited groups to explore English Heritage sites and stories, find connections that are meaningful to their group, and then explore those connections creatively.

We look for projects that engage critically with the past, approach history on a level that is important to young people as individuals, and demonstrate how the stories of the past – whether these are well-known or undiscovered – impact the present. We want to encourage a broader view of what heritage is, who owns it, and what it means to young people.

Five projects have been selected from this year’s applications and we are thrilled to share them with you! Find out more about each project, the sites they are using as inspiration, and the groups themselves below.

Echoes of Place

Created by BlueJam Arts CIC a community music and arts orgainsation based in Penrith, Cumbria, this project will explore Lanercost Priory, Castlerigg Stone Circle and Mayburgh Henge. focusing on the stories of their stones in the past and in the future, looking through the lens of the current climate crisis and societal pressures. Hoping to inspire deep exploration and creative reflections of the sites, the project will culminate in a final multi-media exhibition event designed and curated by young people which will be hosted at BlueJam.

Our History, Our Rules

Inspired by Gainsborough Old Hall and the wider histories of Lincolnshire, Writing East Midlands will collaborate with autistic and neurodivergent young people as part of their Beyond The Spectrum: An Autism Arts Project to co-create a playable tabletop roleplaying game. Participants aged 12 to 16 will take part in a series of workshops combining creative writing, collaborative storytelling and game design. Through site visits, discussion and research, the group will explore the spaces, stories and social structures of the area with the aim of enabling participants to reinterpret heritage through collaborative gameplay, storytelling and decision-making, exploring how history is constructed, interpreted, and shared.

DCYG Make Some Noise: Beyond Words!

Created by Newcastle Deaf Centre, Part of St, Vincent de Paul Society England and Wales this youth led street-art project is inspired by Prudhoe Castle, Carlisle Castle & Lindisfarne Priory. This project invites young people from Newcastle Deaf Centre to critically explore English Heritage sites explore the spaces through visual storytelling, touch, movement and BSL‑led interpretation. Participants will re‑imagine their stories through spray art, visual symbols and public installation inspired by the bold, symbolic language of artists such as Banksy, culminating in a collective series of spray art panels which will form a public installation at a Newcastle railway station.

Watch this video showing progress on their project.

History Behind the Haunts: Exploring Framlingham Castle Heritage

Developed by Signals Essex Media Centre this project will support young people to explore the ghost stories, legends and hidden histories connected to Framlingham Castle and creatively respond by making one or more short films. Young people will investigate powerful or influential women connected to the castle’s history, and explore how women’s histories, local legends and folklore are remembered, reshaped or sometimes overlooked. The overarching aim is to make heritage feel exciting, relevant and accessible to young people by using ghost stories and folklore as an entry point.

Making Tomorrow

Inspired by Bramber Castle and developed by Corridor Projects CIC Making Tomorrow is an artist-led, youth-centred project with young people in Lancing and Shoreham (Adur) West Sussex that explores Bramber Castle. It aims to enable young people facing disadvantage to creatively explore their local heritage, focusing on relationships between heritage, landscape and identity, with the intention of inspiring a stronger sense of belonging and care for the environment. Participants will respond creatively using a range of media, including photography, collage, video. These activities support the development of creative, technical and critical thinking skills, with potential outputs including films, zines or a photographic series which will be showcased in a digital exhibition at the Shoreham Centre.

Past Reverberate Projects

young person with sound recording equipment

Reverberate 2024

group of musicians standing in front of a tank

Reverberate 2023

Reverberate: Encore