What happens when you raise a barn, then fill it to the rafters with hopes for the future? 

In May 2023, in a spectacular 24-hour build, 300 women and non-binary people raised The WOW Barn in Cinder Moor, Leeds – creating a new kind of space from the ground up, and re-imagining what is possible as a result of collective action.

The WOW Barn became a hub for creativity, community and feminist future-building. It hosted three weeks of talks, workshops, food, music and shared celebration – from bird-box building to headline events with Corrine Bailey Rae, Bridget Christie, Natalie Haynes, Andi Oliver, Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan and more.

It was a space made by the people who would go on to fill it at The WOW Barn Festival. From plumbing to poetry, rallying to rest, The WOW Barn invited everyone to dream of a world designed with care, equity and joy. A place to gather. A place to grow.

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