Women Empowered Heal (WE Heal)

Women Empowered Heal (WE Heal) is a new women’s arts, health and wellbeing fund. We provide grant funding to individuals and organisations helping them to develop and deliver arts initiatives, projects or workshops that are designed to improve the mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of Islington women and children who have experienced violence.

The WE Heal fund, which runs until 2024, aims to support a diverse range of arts projects and arts therapy sessions for Islington's women and children, focusing on those who are:

• often excluded from taking part in high-quality creative arts experiences
• marginalised within the sector that seeks to help people experiencing Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

The WE Heal fund is tailored towards healing through therapeutic arts-based activity created in safe spaces.

Who can apply  

We are no longer accepting applications for WE Heal grants.

WE Heal funding is available for eligible individuals and organisations. We strongly encourage, local arts and cultural organisations, community groups, voluntary, grassroots and faith-based organisations or group of organisations to apply. 

You do not have to be based in Islington to apply but will have to show a strong relationship with or affiliation to Islington communities.  

Individuals and organisations that are not constituted will need to partner with an Islington-based constituted organisation.  

We particularly welcome applications from:

• women’s community organisations working with women and families affected by Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) 
• organisations led by and for Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority women and girls 
• specialist grassroots organisations who provide services for marginalised groups (such as disabled women, LGBT+ women, women with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) and vulnerably housed women working to end VAWG 
• individuals with lived experience of VAWG. 

What we fund

1. WE Heal aims to fund new, imaginative and empowering projects that promote mental health and wellbeing through the use of creative and expressive arts.
2. We welcome proposals for inclusive, accessible, participatory projects that demonstrate how the arts are a transformative and restorative force for communication, recovery, self-esteem and identity-building.
3. All proposed projects must directly benefit Islington women and children who have lived experience of VAWG and/or have a relationship with Islington VAWG sector services as participants and/or co-creators.

We are particularly keen for arts initiatives that deliver health and wellbeing benefits to disadvantaged or under-represented groups highlighted in Islington’s VAWG strategy:

• women and girls from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background
• disabled women and girls
• older women
• LGBTQ+ communities
• women and girls who experience multiple disadvantages and/or complex needs.

WE Heal supports the key aim within the VAWG strategy for safety planning, recovery and repair for children, and we welcome targeted therapeutic arts projects that promote the healing of affected children (not only girls), as well as women.

Projects may take any form that has safety, recovery and belonging at its heart including:

• participatory workshops or sessions which may stand alone or build into a safe, sharing event such as a performance, screening or exhibition of works
• group arts therapy sessions delivered by accredited arts / music / drama / dance therapists.

We want to award WE Heal funding to projects with diverse recovery-orientated arts activities producing clear, social, health and wellbeing outcomes that will support the healing process for Islington women and children with lived experience of VAWG. 

How much can you apply for 

The total funding available for this grant programme is £83,000 and distribution of these funds will be made over two years in two funding rounds with the programme closing by the end of March 2024.

Organisations and individuals are invited to apply for either micro-grants of £500 to £1,500 or project grants of £2,000 - £5,000. 

Funding for this scheme is competitive and we are likely to receive many more applications than we are able to fund.

When you can apply

We are no longer accepting applications for WE Heal grants.

Round one was completed in March 2024 and round two applications are closed.  

Further information

If you require further information about the WE Heal Islington Women’s Arts, Health and Wellbeing Fund, email culture@islington.gov.uk.