WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Before SISTALAND became a three-day outdoor festival, it began with a simple belief: creative spaces could feel different.
Less hierarchy. Less performance. More honesty, care, opportunity and real human connection.
Every festival is helping us build that vision.
SISTALAND 2025
THE PILOT
In November 2025, more than 200 creatives came together at SPARKS Bristol for the very first SISTALAND Festival.
What began as an experiment in doing industry events differently became two unforgettable days of bold conversations, practical workshops, honest storytelling and connection without the awkward networking.
We talked about money, burnout, confidence, access, rejection and what it really takes to build a sustainable creative life. People arrived as strangers and left with new friends, collaborators and a powerful reminder:
You were never meant to do this alone.
SISTALAND 2025
The Pilot
NOVEMBER 2025
11.11 - 12.11
SISTALAND 2026
WE TOOK IT OUTSIDE
In July 2026, SISTALAND grew into a three-day outdoor festival overlooking Chew Valley Lake in Somerset.
Women, trans women and non-binary people travelled from across the UK for a weekend of talks, workshops, screenings, performances, movement, creativity, rest and joyful connection.
Across woodland stages, community spaces and late-night celebrations, we explored who gets to belong, how creativity survives uncertain times and what becomes possible when we stop competing and start building together.
People came alone and found their people. They tried something new, shared stories they had been carrying and rediscovered parts of themselves they thought they had lost.
It was bigger, braver and more beautiful than we could have imagined, and it showed us exactly what SISTALAND could become.
The festival was no longer just an event. It felt like coming home.
SISTALAND 2026
We Took It Outside
JULY 2026
10.07 - 12.07
AND NOW, 2027…
Everything we learned in 2025 helped us create 2026.
Everything we felt in 2026 is shaping what comes next.
SISTALAND Festival returns 16 - 18 July 2027
With a new location, new experiences and the same belief at its heart:
Creativity belongs to all of us.
.
WHO IS SISTALAND?
SISTALAND IS A HOME FOR YOUR CREATIVE SELF.
A cultural and creative community for women, trans women and non-binary people who want to make, connect, grow - and feel less alone while doing it.
You might already work in the creative industries. You might be trying to find your way in. You might have an idea you’ve never dared to pursue.
You don’t need a creative job title to belong here.
Because creativity isn’t reserved for the people who have permission, connections or the right words in their bio.
It lives in all of us.
THE MISSION
SISTALAND exists to ignite creativity, challenge gatekeeping and create spaces where people can show up as they are.
We bring together bold conversations, practical learning, honest storytelling and joyful shared experiences - without the hierarchy, posturing or pressure of traditional industry networking.
We’re building the spaces we needed ourselves: places where collaboration replaces competition, vulnerability is welcomed and nobody has to pretend they have it all figured out.
WHY SISTALAND EXISTS
Creative industries can be isolating, inaccessible and difficult to navigate.
Too much power still sits behind closed doors. Too many brilliant people are made to feel as though they don’t have the right experience, background, confidence, connections
- or permission to begin.
And even beyond the industry, many of us have become disconnected from our creativity entirely.
We’re here to change that.
Not by asking people to fit into systems that were never built for them, but by creating something different together.
WE BELIEVE
Creativity belongs to everyone.
Community is not a career strategy. It is how we survive, grow and make change possible.
There is room for ambition and softness. For practical learning and joyful play. For big dreams and honest conversations about what it takes to keep going.
You don’t have to compete for your place here.
You already belong.
FROM A WHATSAPP GROUP TO A MOVEMENT
SISTALAND began as a small WhatsApp group: a place for women and underrepresented creatives to share opportunities, ask honest questions and feel less alone.
That group grew into a national community, a membership platform and, in 2025, our first sold-out festival in Bristol.
In 2026, SISTALAND moved outdoors for three days of talks, workshops, screenings, performances, creativity, rest, celebration and connection.
Hundreds of people arrived - many alone - and left carrying new friendships, collaborators, ideas and a renewed belief in themselves.
Now we’re building what comes next.
SISTALAND FESTIVAL 2027
16–18 July 2027
SISTALAND Festival returns for three days of creative fuel, honest conversation and joyful connection.
Expect bold speakers, practical workshops, film, performance, movement, music, rest, play and experiences designed to reconnect you with the part of yourself that wants to make something.
Come with a fully formed creative career.
Come with the smallest flicker of an idea.
Come exhausted, curious, uncertain or ready to begin again.
Just come as you are.
WHO IS SISTALAND FOR?
SISTALAND is created for women, trans women and non-binary people.
It’s for you if you’re:
Building or dreaming of a creative career
Starting something new
Freelancing and tired of doing it alone
Returning after time away
Navigating rejection, burnout or change
Searching for collaborators and creative friendships
Reconnecting with a part of yourself you’ve neglected
Looking for a space where you don’t have to prove that you belong
