GALvanise is a new small pot of funding available as part of the 2025-26 Pivotal programme. If you are a local creative female in the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham we invite you to apply, outlining your creative idea that you would like to progress with the help of:
- 1-2-1 mentor sessions
- Female-only group sessions
- Access to free space
- £500 to make your idea happen
The programme will run between November 2025 and March 2026. The five successful chosen female creatives will have their final outcomes showcased publicly as part of the final celebration during Women’s Empowerment Month in March 2026.
If you are successful you will be offered four 1-2-1 hour-long sessions on a Friday, plus two group sessions between November 2025 and January 2026.
WHO CAN APPLY? You need to...
- be a creative female, living, working, or with strong ties to Barking & Dagenham
- have an idea you’d like to develop further or try out for the first time
- be happy to join in with the cohort of other successful women to work together and share support with one another
- be available to attend four 1-2-1 sessions on a Friday from Nov 2025 to Jan 2026.
- be prepared to then develop your idea independently over an 8-week period and be ready to present back in March 2026.
- You do not need to be a professional artist or performer, but have a keen interest/passion in any artform.
- Open to women over 18
We will not fund: An idea that is not creative; an idea that is not of impact for the people of Barking & Dagenham or has not relation to the Borough; an idea that is put forward not from a female. We will not fund overheads, travel, or solely fund equipment with no strong evidence of a creative outcome.
We will not fund under 18s or organisations.
We will not fund work that promotes any hate or harm.
Application Deadlines: Please submit the completed application below by Friday 17th October 2025.