Barking arts centre to be developed by a citizens’ panel in London first
Image: Citizens Design Bureau
An initiative to develop the Galleon Arts Centre in Barking using a panel of local people has been announced today by Creative Barking & Dagenham. There is a public explainer available here.
The project is called “Imagine Galleon Together” and will be the first time that an arts space in London has been shaped by the public in a deliberative citizens’ panel.
The panel will be selected by a civic lottery in May 2025 to represent the population of Barking and Dagenham.
The twelve-strong panel will then meet in June 2025 to create an outline plan for the future of Galleon Arts Centre which will be the basis of the centre’s future planning.
Imagine Galleon Together is supported by funding from Arts Council England as they continue their investment in Barking & Dagenham as one of their identified Priority Places. Commissioned by Barking and Dagenham Council, the project is being led by Sarah Wickens of Creative Barking and Dagenham, working with David Jubb of Citizens in Power and freelance consultant Allegra Galvin.
The investment aims to support the development of an independent arts centre, with backing from a range of strategic and local partners to help ensure a sustainable business model.
A citizens’ panel is a people-led decision-making process bringing together representative groups of people to deliberate on a particular issue and propose a way forward. It is based on the model of citizens’ juries and citizens’ assemblies which are much used in Europe, Canada and Australia.
Barking and Dagenham residents can sign up for a chance to be randomly selected. Panel members will receive £200 in shopping vouchers for their time, plus support with childcare or other access costs. Residents can apply to take part using this form.
Local creatives and community groups are invited to share their insights too via a questionnaire. Unwaged people who contribute to advising the panel will be paid £37.50 per hour for their contribution. People can sign up to take part using this form.
Sarah Wickens, Director of Creative Barking & Dagenham, said:
“Barking and Dagenham is a place full of creative people and energy. When it fully reopens, Galleon Arts Centre will be a much-needed resource for local people to be creative and participate in culture, and importantly it will be designed for and by Barking and Dagenham citizens.”
David Jubb, Co-Director of Citizens in Power, said:
“Why aren’t more decisions made by the people who will be affected by those decisions? The citizens’ panel for Galleon Arts Centre will bring together local residents to lead decision-making about the future of this much-loved space, creating an arts centre that is owned, shared and enjoyed for many many years to come.”
Councillor Saima Ashraf, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Leadership & Engagement at Barking and Dagenham Council, said:
“We’re committed to empowering Barking and Dagenham residents, and I know many residents will want to get involved in this innovative programme at one of the borough’s key creative hubs. Art is about opportunities, and I encourage everyone who wants an opportunity to help shape the Galleon Arts Centre to get involved".
Michelle Walker, London Area Director, Arts Council England, said:
“We’re proud to support Creative Barking & Dagenham in the delivery of Imagine Galleon Together. As part of our continued investment in the borough - one of our Priority Places - we’re excited to see how local residents help shape the future of this valuable cultural resource, to ensure it makes a lasting impact within the local community in the years ahead."
In the long term, Creative Barking & Dagenham aims to create a permanent citizens’ assembly that could help shape both Galleon Art Centre’s programme and other creative activities in the borough.
ENDS
Media contact:
Andrew Marcus
Notes to Editors:
About Galleon Arts Centre
The Galleon Arts Centre is located in the centre of Barking. The building originally opened as a community centre in 1980. It was refurbished as an arts centre in 2021 but closed in 2023. It has recently reopened for occasional arts activities and events, organised by a small team of freelance creatives.
About Creative Barking & Dagenham
Creative Barking and Dagenham is a not for profit company that supports creative projects shaped by and for local people. Its work is about local people choosing, creating and taking part in brilliant arts and cultural experiences in the borough. Creative Barking & Dagenham is funded as part of Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places programme.
About Citizens in Power
Saad Eddine-Said and David Jubb co-founded Citizens In Power in November 2022 and it launched in May 2023. Saad and David first met and began working together in 2017 at Battersea Arts Centre where they shared the role of Artistic Director between 2017 to 2019. Saad and David’s backgrounds are different in terms of race, class, religion, culture and politics. But despite different life experiences, they share a passion for citizen-led decision-making. It is this shared passion to bring people together from different backgrounds and to make better decisions by listening to each other which created the idea of Citizens In Power.
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.