Local Voices
Rising up to the challenge
Barking & Dagenham Giving has teamed up with the Council and You Press to tell your stories.
We have tried to capture a wide range of voices from across the borough. As such, the views expressed in these stories do not necessarily represent the views of any of the organisations involved in the project.
AJ Haastrup: Our Power as a Collective Agency
AJ Haastrup is the co-founder of One Room Live, an organisation dedicated to promoting fitness and well-being, as well as various forms of self-expression through the use of artistic and digital media. The organisation received funding through the Rapid Response Fund to do its first festival, which ended up as an online event due to the pandemic.
Rachel Crossley: History in the making
Rachel Crossley is the museum director for the East End Women’s Museum, which celebrates and shares the stories of women in east London and counteracts gender inequality. She was also one of the decision-makers for the Rapid Response Fund.
Natalie Smith: Being Brave
Nat Smith works as an Education Director at Arc Theatre, which specializes in creating and performing theatre that challenges assumptions and causes real change in the way that people relate to one another at work, at school and in the community. Arc Theatre received a grant from the Rapid Response Fund to purchase new computer equipment which would allow them to continue their work online and support them after the pandemic.
Carole Pluckrose: Innovation and excitement
My name is Carole Pluckrose and I am the Artistic Director and Board Member of the Boathouse Barking, where I work as both a curator
Ros Alexander: Keeping Carnival Alive
UKON Careers CIC was given a grant from our Renew Fund to take their Carnival activities online. They used this to make and send craft
Aislinn Evans: Building a new world
Aislinn Evans is a 20-year-old artist, youth worker, and cat-lover who has recently embarked into university to study Fine Art. During lockdown, they dedicated time to work
Get involved
Put your details in the form and we will contact you to arrange an interview. Our interviews are informal and fun conversations conducted using Google Hangouts or by phone. After the interview, we will create a short article to be published online and – at the end of the project – in a book.
