About OCI
In the Outreach & Community Involvement (OCI) team we focus on reaching out to people and groups who aren’t already engaged with the history, stories and built heritage of the palaces because of social, financial or physical barriers.
Our small team particularly tries to engage the local palace communities, and to break down those social, cultural, physical and economic barriers to access.
At the Tower of London
The Tower of London sits in Tower Hamlets, one of the UK’s most diverse boroughs, with a very high proportion of young residents.
Our work at the Tower responds to real local need and reflects this by focusing on youth inclusion.
Projects are often inspired by the quirkier and darker moments in the Tower's past - such as the Tower's roof spaces being used to grow vegetables for the war effort during the Second World War, the graffiti carved by Tudor political prisoners in the Salt Tower or the menagerie of wild animals once resident in the now ruined Lion Tower.
But community involvement at the Tower goes further than youth engagement. It reaches out to a range of audiences through activities such as citizenship ceremonies and community carol services in the Chapel of St Peter Ad Vincula.
At Hampton Court Palace
Where possible our team works with partners to create special events to benefit people at risk of exclusion within the local community around the palace.
Our projects involve working in partnership with artists, youth groups, local communities and specialist service providers to widen access to the palaces and their stories.
At Kensington Palace
It is fitting that the palace is placed in the centre of the vibrant local community of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea with its rich social and cultural mix.
Our community involvement programme at Kensington Palace offers a range of specially designed site-inspired projects aimed at creating an engaging and enjoyable experience for people who may never have considered visiting us before.
By consulting with local partners we will design projects of quality and depth that go beyond a single visit and encourage mutual respect and learning opportunities.
Alliances with local groups and schools, for example, are an important way of ensuring long-term relationships that will encourage engagement with the palace and community benefits.
At the heart of our community involvement strategy is the intention to become more meaningful to local people of all ages and backgrounds and through the lessons learned in this way, more accessible to audiences generally.
In this way we feel that our stories will maintain their relevance and we will be able to build confident and enthusiastic audiences for the future.
At Kew Palace
Our community outreach programme at Kew Palace offers a range of special learning opportunities. We regularly work closely in partnership with Royal Botanic Gardens Kew on community education projects. And we are particularly focused on opening up opportunities to as wide an audience as possible with a range of tailored projects both on and off site.
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Our projects: Increasing access
Our projects involve a diverse range of people – from elders and family support groups to people with disabilities and disengaged youth.
Always tailored to the needs of the groups involved in the past we've worked with artists and specialist service providers to create installations, exhibitions, oral histories, performance pieces and more.
See what's been done within each of the palace communities.
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Community partnerships
Get involved!
Our success depends on working with a wide range of partners: community groups, schools, funding bodies, education and business partnerships, corporate social responsibility units and many more.
If you are interested in working with us at any of our palaces please email outreachandcommunity@hrp.org.uk
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Funding projects
Your financial support can help deliver real engagement to people who might not otherwise be able to access the palaces. You can help offer disadvantaged communities unique opportunities to engage with heritage in a supported way.
If you’d like to help extend this valuable work please email us, or find out more about funding projects from our Development Department.
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Contact us
For more information about any of our work at any of the palaces, please email outreachandcommunity@hrp.org.uk
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