The programme puts culture in the hands of the local community
Creative Barking and Dagenham has been awarded £1 million as part of Arts Council England’s largest ever Creative People and Places (CPP) Portfolio, which sees £42 million invested in 45 programmes from 2026–29, to deliver more grassroots-led cultural experiences in areas across England where involvement in arts and culture is below the national average.
CPPs bring together community, grassroots and cultural organisations as partners to take the lead in choosing, creating and taking part in creative and cultural activities. CPPs are empowering local people to pursue the art they want, where they live.
This funding is made possible thanks to National Lottery players. Every National Lottery ticket purchased generates money for good causes and enables people in villages, towns, and cities up and down the country to get access to cultural experiences where they live.
In the next phase, Creative Barking and Dagenham will collaborate closely with local people, communities, and partners to understand what truly matters to them. Together, they will co-design creative programmes that are relevant, relatable, and reflective of the area’s rich diversity.
A central part of this approach is ensuring that communities are involved from the very beginning—not just as participants, but as decision-makers. Through citizen-led decision-making and co-creation, local people will shape the direction and delivery of the programme.
Sarah Wickens, Director of Creative Barking and Dagenham, said: Creative Barking and Dagenham are thrilled to receive Creative People and Places funding from Arts Council England. This support will help establish London’s first Citizens’ Assembly for Culture—bringing together a representative group of local citizens to learn, deliberate, and make decisions about arts and cultural activity in Barking and Dagenham. The funding will also enable the continued growth of our Creative Communities Network, connecting creative practitioners, local people and the grassroots through co-created cultural activities that reflect and celebrate the borough’s diverse voices.
Michelle Walker, London Area Director, Arts Council England, said: “Creative People and Places is about empowering people to bring creativity into everyday spaces in ways that are important to them. We’re thrilled to support a new round of locally rooted projects that reflect the energy and diversity of London’s communities, from citizen-led assemblies and eco-focused events to youth-driven initiatives. With National Lottery funding, these programmes will help Londoners shape the cultural life of their neighbourhoods.”
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For more information, please contact Sarah Wickens, Director of Creative Barking and Dagenham:
sarah@creativebd.org.uk
About Creative Barking and Dagenham
Creative Barking and Dagenham is about local people choosing, creating and taking part in brilliant arts and cultural experiences in the borough. The Creative People and Places programme is supported by a Consortium of partners including Barking and Dagenham College, Barking and Dagenham Council, Barking and Dagenham Council for Voluntary Service and BD_Collective.
About Arts Council England
Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. Our vision, set out in our strategy Let’s Create, is that by 2030, we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish, and where every one of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. Between 2023 and 2026 we will have invested over £467 million of public money from Government, alongside an estimated £250 million each year from The National Lottery, to help ensure that people in every part of the country have access to culture and creativity in the places where they live. Until Autumn 2025, the National Lottery is celebrating its 30th anniversary of supporting good causes in the United Kingdom: since the first draw was held in 1994, it has raised £49 billion and awarded more than 690,000 individual grants. Visit our website to learn more about our work.
